18 October 2024
Asia Cement (China) makes a loss in first nine months of 2024 18 October 2024
China: Asia Cement (China)’s nine-month profit of US$16.3m in 2023 turned to a loss of US$64.6m in 2024, Dow Jones Institutional News has reported. The group attributed the reversal to a drop in its selling prices.
Switzerland/US: Holcim may list its upcoming market-separated North American business both in the US and Switzerland, Bloomberg has reported. The possibility arose due to Swiss and European restrictions on foreign shareholdings for locally-based funds, which may result in sales of Holcim stocks, with negative price impacts. On the other hand, a dual listing could potentially reduce the liquidity of any future US-listed shares.
SeeNews has reported that Holcim North America will be headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, for tax ‘advantages,’ while operating out of Chicago, US.
Pakistan: DG Khan Cement recorded a 22% year-on-year rise in earnings in the first quarter of the 2025 financial year, to US$2.88m. This came despite a 7% drop in sales, to US$54.9m, and a 12% drop in cement sales volumes, to 1.18Mt.
India: Kaushalya Logistics has commenced operations at its new depot in Amritsar, Punjab, Reuters has reported. The facility will serve JK Cement’s regional distribution operations.
Chilean cement sales contract in first half of 2024 18 October 2024
Chile: The combined cement sales of Cbb, Melón and Polpaico continued a three-year decline with a 4% year-on-year drop in the first half of 2024, to 1.83Mt. In terms of market shares, Polpaico retained 40%, Melón 34% and Cbb 26%. Noticias Financieras News has reported that low domestic demand caused the fall in sales. Despite the general downturn, Cbb succeeded in more than doubling its profit to US$18.5m, by increasing its shipments of cement, which offset a decline in concrete sales.
Polpaico said "During the second quarter of 2024, the cement and concrete industry in Chile continued to face significant challenges, reflected in a slowdown in the construction sector." It added that there was ‘constant price competition’ exacerbated by an ‘abnormal volume of rainfall’ in June 2024.
Melón said "There has been a slowdown in projects under development compared to previous periods. On the other hand, production and distribution costs have continued to be under pressure, which in this period are mainly related to the increase in the exchange rate."