Displaying items by tag: GCW218
Lafarge Zambia records 4% profit growth
15 September 2015Zambia: Lafarge Zambia's post-tax profit grew by 4% year-on-year to US$36,017 in the first half of 2015 despite economic challenges in Zambia and political uncertainties in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which constitutes the company's major export market. Lafarge Zambia recently merged with Holcim Construction Group, which reported a 14% increase in turnover to US$134,577 in the first half of 2015.
Lafarge Zambia said that electricity supply disruptions adversely impacted cement production in 2015. Company chief executive officer Emmanuel Rigaux said that domestic demand in the second half of 2015 is expected to continue to slow down until Eurobond proceeds are directed towards infrastructure and construction activity.
"Strong focus in the second half of 2015 will be placed on adjusting our cost base wherever necessary. Market activity was subdued in the first half of the year in the Zambian market and was negatively impacted by political uncertainties in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which constitutes our major export market. The successful issuance of the US$1.25bn by the Zambian government is expected to generate increased construction activity," said Rigaux.
Holcim Indonesia launches new cement plant in Tuban, East Java
15 September 2015Indonesia: PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk has launched its new US$800m, 3.4Mt/yr cement plant in Tuban, East Java.
Having started the construction five years ago, the plant is Holcim's first greenfield project in Indonesia. The plant will serve the East Java market and supply Sumatra and Kalimantan. With the new plant, Holcim Indonesia's cement production capacity has grown by 40% to 12.5Mt/yr.
"Currently, Holcim Indonesia is operating in an oversupply market and market slowdown. However, we believe that it is temporary as construction markets in developing countries are cyclical. The overall long-term macroeconomic fundamentals in Indonesia remain strong and the domestic economy will recover with the realisation of delayed infrastructure projects and housing," said Gary Schutz, CEO of Holcim Indonesia. "The new Tuban Plant completes our presence in Java as it will serves our markets better, ensures supplies and secures our position among the three biggest cement players in Indonesia."
China Resources Cement to pay US$237m for 40% stake in Yunnan Kunming Iron & Steel Building Materials
15 September 2015China: China Resources Holdings has agreed to pay US$237m for a 40% stake in Yunan Province-based cement producer Yunnan Kunming Iron & Steel Building Materials Group Co in a bid to lift production capacity, according to Dow Jones. Yunnan Kunming Iron & Steel Building Materials Group Co is currently a 100% owned unit of state-owned Kunming Iron & Steel Holding Co Ltd. China Resources plans to fund the investment via internal resources and bank borrowing, it said.
Arr Thit Man plans to double cement capacity in Mandalay
15 September 2015Myanmar: Local cement producer Arr Thit Man plans to double its cement production capacity from 5000t/day to 10,000t/day by 2016, according to senior officials. The company makes the Double Rhinos brand cement from its plant in Kyaukse, Mandalay. It claims to be the country's largest cement plant.
"We are a new brand, but we are focused on the quality of cement and fulfilling market demand," said the company's managing director. For the time being, Arr Thit Man plans to focus on meeting growing domestic demand rather than exports.
A number of other cement manufacturers are also looking to increase their local presence. Siam Cement Group is building a 1.8Mt/yr cement plant in Mon, which it expects to be operational in 2016. Several companies also import their cement to Myanmar.
ARM Cement’s clinker plant will boost margins
14 September 2015Kenya: Kenya's ARM Cement expects profitability to improve now that it produces its own clinker for its east African cement plants, according to managing director Pradeep Paunrana.
Reuters reported that ARM Cement posted a pre-tax loss of US$4.5m in the first six months of 2015, which the company blamed on unrealised foreign exchange losses associated with borrowing for its new clinker plant, a vital raw material for cement.
Paunrana said that the new 1.2Mt/yr clinker plant was operating at about 75% capacity since production began in April 2015. "What this essentially means is that our production cost has come down drastically because imported clinker is much more expensive, at least 70 or 80% more expensive than what we are producing locally," said Paunrana. "So we expect improvement in our margins both in Kenya and in Tanzania with the production of our own clinker." He added that ARM was also selling clinker to other companies in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
ARM's operating margin was 13.4% in 2014 according to Thomson Reuters data, compared with an industry median of 15.5%. ARM's Tanzanian plant has 1.5Mt/yr of cement production capacity, while its Kenyan plant can produce 1Mt/yr and its plant in Rwanda can make 100,000t/yr.
Paunrana said that he expected an improved financial performance in the second half of 2015, citing the 9% rise in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first half to US$18.4m. "The company is still very profitable, especially now that we have more clinker production and more volume growth," said Paunrana. He added that earnings in foreign exchange were rising and that ARM now had an advantage over some rivals. "We are keeping our margins steady and are now becoming a lot more competitive against those who import either clinker or finished cement."
China 22MCC Group to sell cement assets
14 September 2015China: China 22MCC Group Corporation Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), plans to sell its cement assets for a combined US$9.05m, according to the China Beijing Equity Exchange.
China 22MCC Group plans to sell a 6.74% stake in Jidong Cement Luan County Corporation for about US$6.98m and a 9% stake in Tianjian Jidong Cement Corporation for about US$2.07m. In the first half of 2015, Jidong Cement Luan County Corporation reported an operating revenue of US$30.9m and a net loss of US$6.07m, while Tianjian Jidong Cement Corporation reported an operating revenue of US$13.5m and a net profit of US$281,168.
Statistics show that in January – July 2015, China's cement industry earned profits of US$2.31bn, down by 63.8% year-on-year.
Asia Cement expects loss in 2015
14 September 2015China: Asia Cement said it expects to record a net loss for the nine months that end on 30 September 2015 compared to a net profit for the same period in 2014. The loss in first three quarters of 2015 was primarily attributed to the decrease in average sales prices and the foreign exchange loss from US Dollar-denominated bank borrowings as a result of the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan.
Turkmenistan to build 220 facilities for US$18bn in 2016
14 September 2015Turkmenistan: The Republic of Turkmenistan plans to construct more than 220 facilities for US$18bn in 2016, according to president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
The construction will take place under a large investment development programme and will include a natural gas pipeline that will transverse Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India and will ship 33Bnm3/yr of gas. The projects will also include a 1Mt/yr cement plant in Lebap, a gas-chemical complex designed to produce 467,000t/yr of polyethylene and polypropylene, a plant to produce 600t/yr of petrol from natural gas, as well new airports in the cities of Atamyrat and Garabogaz.
"Over the past few years, gross domestic product has been growing rapidly in Turkmenistan. During this past year, GDP growth hit 8.3%. Capital investments rose by 8.2% and the average monthly wages increased by 10%," said Berdymukhammedov.
Germany/Italy: Italcementi's CEO Carlo Pesenti said that the acquisition of Italcementi by HeidelbergCement is expected to be completed in the first half of 2016, according to Dow Jones. September 2015 will be dedicated to speaking to European and national regulators to receive approval for the deal. Pesenti said that he will join the supervisory board of HeidelbergCement and plans to keep an active role in the company.
Maple Leaf Cement posts US$33.6m profit
11 September 2015Pakistan: Higher volumetric sales and lower coal prices helped Maple Leaf Cement beat market expectations as the company boosted its profits by 22% to US$33.6m during its 2015 financial year that ended on 30 June 2015.
Maple Leaf Cement's revenue grew by 9.2% year-on-year to US$199m. The growth in earnings was due to higher dispatches and expansion in margins. Monetary easing and deleveraging helped ease Maple Leaf Cement's finance cost, which was US$9.59m, down by 26% from US$14.4m in its 2014 financial year. The company has announced a plan to invest US$47.9m in Maple Leaf Power Limited to set up a 40MW coal-fired power plant.