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Dominican Republic: Cemex has used its concrete mixer trucks to aid a disinfection day in San Pedro de Macorís, where the company operates an integrated cement plant. The local subsidiary of the Mexican company supported a cleanup drive coordinated by the Dr Antonio Musa Regional Hospital to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Cemex trucks transported soap and water and company volunteers helped local officials. Further initiatives are planned in the city.
Italy: Italcementi’s integrated Calusco plant near Bergamo has been awarded a Responsible Sourcing Scheme (RSS) certificate for its concrete and related supply chain operations. The certification looks at the entire production process from transportation to recycling raw materials. It is the first cement plant in the Italian subsidiary of HeidelbergCement to obtain the certification.
Italcementi suspended operation at its plants in March 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak due to government decree.
Ireland: The Irish Times newspaper has reported examples of shareholder advisory companies expressing concern about the scale of CRH chief executive officer (CEO) Alfred Manifold’s pay package in the face of mounting financial pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic. Glass Lewis has said in a report that it remains ‘particularly concerned’ about the size of Manifold’s pension benefits, while Institutional Shareholder Services has expressed similar reservations about his remuneration. Manifold had a total reported pay, performance and long term incentive package totalling Euro9.3m in 2019.
Institutional Shareholder Services previously recommended that investors vote against an executive pay rise at CRH in 2018. The multinational building materials company plans to hold its annual general meeting on 23 April 2020.
Building materials companies around the world are expected to face financial pressure as construction markets suffer due to national and regional lockdown measures in response to the coronavirus epidemic.
Austria: RHI Magnesita’s revenue from its cement and lime sector rose by 6.4% year-on-year to Euro344m in 2019 from Euro324m in 2018. It attributed the growth to selective price increases, product portfolio choices and market share gains specifically in China, the Middle East and Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It said that demand for its products in Europe had been ‘slightly’ weaker in 2019 due to customer inventory build-up in 2018 as a result of tightening magnesite and dolomite raw material availability. It forecast a stable market in 2020 however it said that coronavirus was likely to affect this.
Overall, the company reported a 6.5% fall in revenue to Euro2.9bn in 2019 due to decreased revenue in its steel division. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell at a similar rate. However, coronavirus aside, chief executive officer Stefan Borgas expected the company’s Production Optimisation Plan to continue strengthening the business.
Teploozersky cement completes kiln maintenance 03 April 2020
Russia: VostokCement subsidiary Teploozersky Cement has reported the successful completion of scheduled maintenance work on the rotary kiln at its 0.8Mt/yr integrated Teploozersky cement plant in Birobidzhan Oblast. Esmerk Russian News has reported that the work consisted of adjusting furnace units’ positions replacing worn sections of the lining.