September 2024
Cemento Polpaico flips to a loss in first nine months 28 November 2017
Chile: Cemento Polpaico has reported losses of US$3.58m in the first nine months of 2017. This compares very unfavourably with the company’s profit of US$6.5m in the same period of 2016.
The firm recorded revenues from ordinary activities of US$151m, a 11.4% reduction compared to the first nine months of 2016 when it took in US$170.4m.
Briones family to increase stake in Cementos Bío Bío 28 November 2017
Chile: The Briones family has decided to acquire another 13.1% stake in local cement producer Cementos Bío Bío from Brazil’s Votorantim for US$45.5m. The family thus intends to increase its shareholding to 39.5%. Votorantim would be left without an interest in the company if the deal goes ahead.
Adelaide Brighton to use green power 28 November 2017
Australia: Adelaide Brighton will power some of its facilities with electricity from a 278.5MW wind farm owned by Infigen Energy, according to the Australian Financial Review. Adelaide Brighton will use the electricity to supply two of its cement plants near Adelaide, South Australia, and a quarry on Yorke Peninsula.
The two companies have signed a contract that calls for the cement manufacturer to buy power from the Lake Bonney wind farm for a five-year term. Specific terms of the deal have not been provided, while the contracted amount is said to be more than the 88GWh that were contracted in a bulk power purchase agreement (PPA) deal for a wind project in Melbourne earlier in November 2017.
Two more Algerian plants 27 November 2017
Algeria: Already an exporter of cement, Algeria is set to gain two further cement plants by 2020. The CEO of GICA Group, Rabah Guessoum, has indicated that his group has already begun construction of a 1Mt/yr plant in Béchar and a 2Mt/yr plant at Sigus, Oum El Bouaghi.
By 2020 the group will reach a cement production capacity of around 20Mt/yr. Regarding exports, Guessoum noted that with the satisfaction of domestic demand, the surplus will be exported to other African countries, in accordance with the guidelines of the public authorities. He said, "Currently we are in discussion with international operators to form possible partnerships to place our products internationally."
Cigarettes go up in smoke for Holcim Philippines 27 November 2017
Philippines: Around 4.748 million packs of cigarettes worth US$2.8m and owned by Mighty Corporation, which is being wound up amid tax evasion charges, were destroyed on Sunday at the Geocycle Compound of Holcim Philippines in Bunawan, Davao City. They were used as an alternative fuel in the plant’s kiln to produce cement.
The cigarettes with counterfeit stamps were discovered at the warehouse owned by Sunshine Cornmill Co., Distribution in General Santos City in a joint operation conducted by members of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on 6 March 2017.
"The incineration we will witness today is intended to deliver this message,” said Kelvin Lee, Assistant Secretary of the Office of the Executive Secretary. “Tax evasion does not pay. We will confiscate the offending products and destroy them. No one will profit from the commission of a crime.”
Global Cement would argue that Holcim Philippines is a beneficiary in this process, presumably having gained free alternative fuel!
Dangote inaugurates Mfila plant in Congo 24 November 2017
Congo: Dangote Cement commissioned its new Mfila plant in the Republic of Congo on 23 November 2017. The 1.5Mt/yr integrated facility, which cost US$300m to construct, will employ around 1000 direct workers and contribute to the creation of many indirect jobs. It is the largest cement plant in the country.
At the inauguration ceremony, Congo’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso said that the construction of the plant marked part of an ‘industrial revolution’ in the Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC). He said that Congo was happy to host Dangote Cement, which he had observed operating to the benefit of other sub-Saharan African countries. He said that the timing of Dangote’s investment was fortunate as the country needed to diversify its economy in light of falling oil revenues.
The Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari was represented at the event by a delegation led by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi. He commended Aliko Dangote for contributing to the economic development of Africa and said that his ‘sterling accomplishment’ made Dangote Cement a ‘worthy ambassador’ of Nigeria.
PPC results could fuel more acquisition interest 24 November 2017
South Africa: PPC has seen its net profit rise significantly in the six months to September 2017. It nearly tripled its profit year-on-year to US$21.1m from US$7.3m.
The company benefited particularly from a strong performance from its assets outside of South Africa. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from its non-domestic assets rose by 25%, while group EBITDA grew by 4% to US$86m. The results bode well for a potential bidding war that now favours PPC shareholders.
Earlier in the week, PPC effectively rejected a conditional partial offer from AfriSam and Canada’s Fairfax Group for the company, stating that it undervalued the company. This latest set of results brings this assessment into sharper focus and may give cause for CRH and LafargeHolcim to think again about the values of their own non-binding offers, should PPC also be of the view that these also undervalue the company.
Eagle starts construction of Cebu plant 24 November 2017
Philippines: Eagle Cement has started construction of a US$246m cement plant in Malabuyoc, Cebu, as part of a wider expansion drive. The 2Mt/yr plant will have dedicated terminals for domestic transit of cement and export. It will take Eagle Cement’s capacity to 9.1Mt/yr once it and an expansion at the company’s Bulacan plant are completed. Cebu will come online in 2020, with the Bulacan expansion completed in 2018.
"We are expanding more to new markets such as Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,” said Eagle’s President and CEO Paul Ang. “By 2018, our third line in Bulacan will be fully functional to serve those areas, with the most efficient and energy saving manufacturing technology.”
Pakistan’s exports down amid stronger domestic consumption 24 November 2017
Pakistan: According to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) Pakistan’s cement exports continued to decline in October 2017. Exports fell by 14.6% month-on-month to 443,000t, due in part to higher domestic cement consumption. However the APCMA stated that falling exports were a concern while some Pakistani cement capacity remains idle.
The largest fall in exports was via sea, rather than overland exports to immediate neighbours. This was despite the northern part of the country, closest to India and Afghanistan, consuming 3.14Mt of cement. This is the first time that the region has consumed more than 3Mt in a single month. In October 2016 the north of Pakistan consumed 2.5Mt of cement. In the south, demand also increased from 0.52Mt in October 2016 to 0.63Mt in October 2017.
Report claims Lafarge Syria paid US$5.6m to groups in Syria 24 November 2017
Syria: A report into the alleged activities of Lafarge Syria, now part of LafargeHolcim, claims that the company paid a total of US$5.6m to a number of local factions in Syria, including to the Islamic State group, between July 2012 and September 2014. The report by the US consultant Baker McKenzie in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers was first reported upon by the French satirical weekly Le Canard enchaîne (The Chained Duck).
According to Le Canard enchaîne, a large portion of the payments were paid to ensure the safety of local staff and the free movement of Lafarge trucks, often blocked by fighters at checkpoints. Groups were also reportedly paid as suppliers, as they controlled access to heavy fuel oil or certain raw materials in part of the region. The document prepared by Baker McKenzie states that the Islamic State group could have collected at least US$500,000. The French Ministry of the Economy took legal action in 2016 on possible offenses committed by the cement group Lafarge by operating a plant in Syria, despite EU bans.
LafargeHolcim has maintained its stance that it ‘deeply regrets and condemns the unacceptable mistakes made in Syria’ and states that it called a central investigation as soon as it became aware of the irregularities. On 14 November 2017, police raided LafargeHolcim's offices in Paris and those of its 9.4% shareholder Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) in Brussels, Belgium. An investigation into the activities continues.