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Range of companies linked to Holcim Philippines sale 11 March 2019
Philippines: Companies including Japan’s Taiheyo Cement, Thailand’s Siam City Cement and China’s Anhui Cement have been linked to the sale of Holcim Philippines. Local companies include Eagle Cement and DMCI Group, according to sources quoted by the Philippine Star. Non-binding offers were have been submitted in February 2019 but it is not clear which companies were involved. However, no agreement has been reached on price yet. LafargeHolcim has reportedly looking at selling its business in the Philippines as part of a review of its operations in South-East Asia.
Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement’s sales fell by 16.5% year-on-year to US$237m in 2018 from US$283m in 2017. Its net profit after Zakat and tax nearly halved to US$52m from US$98.7m. The company blamed the fall in sales and profit on lowering prices, despite higher sales volumes.
The cement producer has also announced renewal of its export licence from the Ministry of Trade and Investment. It will export up to 1Mt of clinker and 0.5Mt of cement for a year from 13 February 2019.
Qatar National Cement signs export deal 11 March 2019
Qatar: Qatar National Cement Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar Company to export clinker and cement. After the completion of its 5000t/day Plant 5 the cement producer said it was considering targeting countries like Yemen and Iraq.
Mexico: Cemex Mexico’s Guadalajara cement plant has been awarded Clean Industry Certification by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA). The plant first received recognition for its environmental compliance in 1997, according to the El Informer newspaper.
Argentina: Loma Negra’s net revenue grew by 7.9% year-on-year to US$632m in 2018 from US$585m in 2017. However, its cement, masonry and lime sales volumes fell by 4.3% to 6.68Mt from 6.99Mt, mainly due to a decline in demand in Argentina. Despite this its concrete sales volumes increased by 30% to 1.07Mm3 from 0.82Mm3. The cement producer’s net profit decreased by 47% to US$46m from US$86.7m.
“We closed the year with another solid quarter, despite the challenging macro-economic environment in Argentina. Specifically, our core Argentine cement business, delivered both adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth and margin expansion, even with weaker volume demand in the country. We are also pleased to see that our concrete operations continued to deliver strong results, reaching record quarterly and annual volumes,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Sergio Faifman. He added that cement demand in Argentina fell by 2.6% in 2018 due to a weak second half of the year. This trend is expected to continue in the first half of 2019 before recovering.