27 April 2017
Ireland: The Environmental Protection Authority is investigating Irish Cement’s plant in Limerick following an alleged ‘blowout’ of dust from the plant in early April 2017 that effected parts of Limerick city. The cement producer said that it had repaired a clinker conveyor following an inspection, according to the Irish Examiner newspaper. Previously Irish Cement admitted to dust emissions in 2015 that led to it compensating local residents with free car washes. The company is also appealing to the government to allow it to burn alternative fuels at the site despite local opposition.
Philippines: Albert Manifold, the chief executive officer of CRH, has defended his company’s investment of up to Euro350m in the Philippines despite reporting a 12% drop in sales in the first quarter of 2017. Under questioning from analysts in a conference call admitted that about a quarter of cement demand in the country is currently being served by imports from Southeast Asia that is also reducing local prices, according to the Irish Times. However, he insisted that local producers, including CRH, will have an advantage as they increase production capacity due to constant production and ‘guaranteed’ regulation and certification. Manifold also conceded that his company’s performance in the Philippines illustrates the ‘volatility of emerging markets.’
Vietnam: Cement sales rose by 6% year-on-year to 17.8Mt in the first quarter of 2017, according to data from the Vietnam Cement Association (VNCA). The total includes 12.9Mt of domestic sales and 4.8Mt of exports sales according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Local cement production rose by 3.8% to 14.3Mt.
Thailand: Siam Cement Group’s Building Materials division’s sales fell by 2% year-on-year to US$1.29bn in the first quarter of 2017 due to lower prices and falling volumes in the local market. The group reported that domestic cement demand fell by 7% in the quarter due to flooding in the south of the country. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) for the division were also negatively affected by the weather falling by 10% to US$181m. Overall the group’s sales and EBITDA rose due to earnings from its Chemical division.
Mexico: Cemex’s net sales for the first quarter of 2017 have been hit by poor sales in the US, Europe and Asia, Middle East and Africa. Its overall net sales rose by 1% year-on-year to US$3.14bn in the quarter from US$3.11bn in the same period in 2016. However, net sales fell by 2% to Euro834m in the US, by 2% to Euro711m in Europe and by 20% to Euro326m in Asia, Middle East and Africa. The group’s overall cement sales volumes remained stagnant at 15.6Mt.
“We continued to see favourable results from our value-before-volume strategy during the quarter. Sequential and year-over-year pricing increased in the low- to mid-single digits for our three core products. This, together with favourable volume dynamics in Mexico and our Europe and South, Central America and Caribbean regions led to solid growth in consolidated sales and operating EBITDA, on a like-to-like basis. In addition, net income increased close to a tenfold during the quarter,” said chief executive officer Fernando A Gonzalez. He added that the group reduced its total debt by US$470m in the quarter.
By region the group reported a more mixed situation with cement sales volumes increases in all territories except for the US and Asia, Middle East and Africa with particular strong performance in Mexico and Central and South America. In the US sales volumes suffered from poor weather in the western states and a decreasing infrastructure spend. In South, Central America and the Caribbean despite overall gains in sales Colombia reported falling cement sales volumes due to local economic issues. In Europe cement sales volumes fell by 10% in the UK yet growth was recorded notably in Spain and France. Finally, cement sales volumes fell by 9% in the Philippines and by 32% in Egypt.