Displaying items by tag: petcoke
Brazil: Secil subsidiary Supremo Secil Cimentos will invest US$20.3m in an upcoming expansion of its Adrianópolis cement plant. Commencing in July 2024, the expansion will raise the plant’s clinker capacity by 10% and enable it to increase its alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate from 25 – 30% to 40%, and eventually to 50% by 2030. To date, AF use at the plant has reduced its cumulative consumption of petcoke by 100,000t.
CEO Paulo Nascentes highlighted the transformative impact of the Adrianópolis plant on its host community, with its initial investment of US$176m and a subsequent US$41.7m in previous upgrades to date. "One of the reasons why the Paraná government allowed the plant was because Adrianópolis was very neglected. The arrival of Supremo transformed the city," he said.
India: ACC grew its sales to US$1.75bn in the first nine months of the 2024 financial year, up by 12% year-on-year. Its net income multiplied by a factor of five, to US$167m.
Mint News has reported that whole time director and CEO Ajay Kapur said "ACC’s financial performance has seen a complete turnaround in the last 12 months. Recent capacity additions have taken the Adani Group’s cement capacity to 77.4Mt/yr. This will enable volumes and revenues growth on a sustainable basis." Looking to the full 2024 financial year and beyond, Kapur added “Purchases of low-cost petcoke will help to further optimise fuel costs in the coming quarters."
Dalmia Bharat increases cement sales and income in first quarter of 2024 financial year
21 July 2023India: Dalmia Bharat sold 7Mt of cement during the first quarter of the 2024 financial year, up by 12% year-on-year from 6.2Mt in the first quarter of the 2023 financial year. The company's income also rose, by 10% to US$442m, while its net profit dropped by 30% to US$17.6m. Hindu BusinessLine News has reported that the producer noted a continued downward trajectory to its fuel costs. During the quarter, Dalmia Bharat commissioned its new 2.5Mt/yr Bokaro cement plant in Jharkhand, and completed de-bottlenecking work at its 0.6Mt/yr Midnapore plant in West Bengal.
Managing Director and CEO Puneet Dalmia said "This quarter has been a disappointment as against our expectations. Having said so, we remain focused on seizing the emerging demand opportunities.”
Cement Managing Director and CEO Mahendra Singhi added “Given the promising outlook for cement demand, the expectation of stable cement prices during the rest of the year, and the softening in commodity costs, we anticipate a gradual improvement in profitability."
India: Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech Cement recorded cement sales volumes of 30Mt during the first quarter of the 2024 financial year, which began on 1 April 2023. This corresponds to growth of 20% year-on-year from first-quarter levels in the previous financial year. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that ICICI Securities expects UltraTech Cement's earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to fall by 3% year-on-year. Declining fuel prices are expected to have contributed to a drop in the producer's costs. Throughout the quarter, its capacity utilisation rate was 90%.
India: The cement industry imported 3.21Mt of petcoke during the first quarter of 2023, up by 72% year-on-year. This was due to a shortage and rising costs of domestically produced petcoke.
Oman is a major trade partner for petcoke for the Indian cement industry. The Oman Daily Observer newspaper has reported that a new oil refinery is scheduled for commissioning in Duqm before the end of 2023. ‘Several’ Indian cement companies are reportedly seeking to secure new petcoke supply deals in Oman.
Indian coal prices decline in December 2022
24 February 2023India: The price of imported coal ended December 2022 at US$145/t. The figure represented a 15% month-on-month drop from November 2022 levels. HT Media News has reported that the price is the lowest since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Finance company IDBI Capital has forecast that earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation (EBITA) per tonne of cement by local cement producers will rise by US$2.66/t quarter on quarter during the fourth quarter of the 2023 financial year, which will end on 31 March 2023. This is partly due to an anticipated 10% year-on-year decline in coal and petcoke costs during the period, alongside a 10% rise in cement volumes projected over the same period.
Tunisia: Les Ciments de Bizerte recorded a full-year consolidated turnover of US$40.1m in 2022, corresponding to a drop of 5.4% year-on-year from 2021 levels. The producer's clinker production fell by 24% year-on-year to 538,000t. African Manager News has reported that the company faced a forced stoppage during the year due to a disruption to its raw materials supply. Meanwhile, its costs increased amid rises in the price of petcoke, electricity, diesel and packaging materials.
India: UltraTech Cement recorded sales of US$1.91bn during the third quarter of the 2023 Indian financial year, up by 20% year-on-year from third-quarter 2022 financial year levels. The Aditya Birla subsidiary's cement sales during the quarter grew by 13% year-on-year in volume. It recorded 24% growth in costs, to US$1.74bn, while its profit fell by 38% to US$131m.
UltraTech Cement noted growth in the cost of electricity, fuels and raw materials.
Dalmia Bharat increases income as earnings drop in first half of 2023 financial year
03 November 2022India: Dalmia Bharat sold 12Mt of cement during the first half of its 2023 financial year, up by 20% year-on-year from 10Mt in the first half of the 2022 financial year. Its income was US$757m, up by 21% year-on-year from US$624m. Meanwhile, the company's earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 28% to US$116m from US$161m. The company noted the growth effects of 'fuel price corrections' during the second quarter of 2022, which it expects to increase its profitability during the second half of year.
Managing director and CEO Punit Dalmia said “We are pleased with the performance of the first half of this year despite the intense inflationary environment, and are confident that we will be among the best in the industry, leaving the bad times behind. While the geopolitical turmoil continues, we are confident in the resilience of the Indian economy, which is further cementing its position at the centre of global growth and consumption.” Dalmia continued “In view of the government's continued momentum in the infrastructure sector, driven by the revitalisation of the housing sector, we expect the demand for cement to grow rapidly. Looking ahead, we will remain focused on our capacity expansion progress.”
Dalmia Bharat's 14 integrated cement and grinding plants span 10 Indian states and have a capacity of 37Mt/yr, India's fourth largest.
Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas plans to make Euro6m-worth of investments in its Alcalá de Guadaira cement plant in Seville. The funds will go towards the construction of a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) line to help reduce the plant's petcoke consumption, as well as the renewal of the plant's mining licence for its quarry.