September 2024
Mexico: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua’s (GCC) sales revenue and earnings have benefitted from the integration of operations that it acquired in Texas and New Mexico in late 2016, favorable pricing environments in both the US and Mexico and the company’s growth strategy. Its net sales rose by 24.3% year-on-year to US$666m in the first nine months of 2017, from US$536m in the same period of 2016. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 25.1% to US$172m from US$137m.
"We continue to be on track in terms of executing our business strategy. Our EBITDA margin in Mexico reached 40.8%, the highest in the last decade, and our US margins reached 25.3%, the second highest since the Great Recession. We have completed the initial integration of the Odessa, Texas plant and other operations in Texas and New Mexico acquired last November. In addition, the expansion of the South Dakota plant is proceeding on schedule and GCC is continuing to make improvements in all our operations," said Enrique Escalante, the chief executive officer (CEO) of GCC.
Ukraine: Cement production fell by 4.8% in Ukraine in September 2017, with total production of 899,000t, according to the State Statistics Service. The figure was 10.7% lower than in August 2017. In the first nine months of 2017, production of cement rose by 1.5% to 7.24Mt year-on-year. The country’s total cement production is more than 20Mt/yr. This indicates a capacity utilisation rate of 48% for the first nine months.
New Eurocement plant for Kaliningrad 24 October 2017
Russia: Russian construction materials producer Eurocement Group plans to build a cement plant in the Danor industrial area in the exclave of Kaliningrad. The intention is to reduce the region’s dependence on outside supplies, according to a local government statement. The sum of the investment will be calculated in December 2017.
Saudi Cement profit slumps 51.5% in first nine months of 2017 24 October 2017
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Cement Company has seen its profit drop by 56.9% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2017. Its net profit fell to US$23.2m from US$53.7m in the third quarter of 2017. The profit was 7.5% lower than the second quarter of 2017. Saudi Cement Company attributed the decrease to falling sales, the decline of the firm’s stake in net financial results of associate companies and a fall in other revenues.
During the first nine months of 2017 the company’s net profit was 51.5% down year-on-year, falling to US$92.3m compared to US$190.4m in the first nine months of 2016.
Ash Grove Cement stockholders approve acquisition by CRH 23 October 2017
US: The shareholders of Ash Grove Cement have approved its merger agreement with Ireland’s CRH. The decision follows a period of uncertainty about the sale to CRH when Summit Materials made a counter-bid for the company. Ash Grove subsequently extended its so-called ‘shop window’ consideration period to 20 October 2017. Following the shareholder approval, no further action is required by any Ash Grove shareholder to approve the merger agreement. The transaction is currently expected to close in late 2017 or early 2018, subject to regulatory approval.
Australia: Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has approved an application from Boral Cement to build a new 1.3Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Geelong in Melbourne, Victoria. The works will include an enclosed ball mill and covered store, covered belt conveyors, outdoor product stockpiles and several finished product storage and distribution silos at the site. Clinker will be unloaded from ships and delivered to the site via covered belt conveyors from Lascelles Wharf. The facility will operate 24-hours per day.
The EPA added that Boral Cement undertook community consultation prior to the submission of the application and during the public submission period.
Cementos Molins to move registered address to Madrid 23 October 2017
Spain: Cementos Molins is moving its registered address from the town of Sant Vicenc dels Horts in Catalonia, to Madrid. Sources quoted by the Expansión newspaper say it is due to the legal uncertainty in Catalonia. The company will continue to operate its cement plant in Sant Vicenc dels Horts but the publicly traded company and the group's holding, through which it channels its foreign investments, will be moved.
The Catalan regional government approved an independence referendum held in early October 2017. The central Spanish government rules it illegal and has moved to impose direct rule on the region.
Delays announced to new mills at Arabian Cement Company 23 October 2017
Saudi Arabia: The Arabian Cement Company (ACC) says that the construction of new cement mills at its Rabigh plant has been delayed to the third quarter of 2018 from the fourth quarter of 2017. The delay has been blamed on, “…the contractor's failure to comply with the timetable.” The second-phase of the project, to build a new clinker production line, is under review. The cement mill order was placed with China National Building Material (CNBM) in 2015.
Ghana: George Dawson-Ahmoah, the chairman of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana (CMAG), says that Nigeria is dumping cement in his country. He cited instances of imports of bagged cement from Nigeria, under the guise of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), as disturbing pricing in the market, in an interview with the Business and Financial Times newspaper. Although Dawson-Ahmoah defended the ECOWAS scheme he raised issues such as evidence of dumping and export subsidies as being a threat to local cement producers.
Speaking at an annual industry association meeting he alleged that cement imports from Nigeria are being sold in the country for less than its value in the originating country in violation of World Trade Organisation rules. He also criticised the local Export Expansion Grant subsidy.
China National Building Materials’ sales revenue rises by 26% to US$13.3bn so far in 2017 23 October 2017
China: China National Building Materials’ (CNDM) operating revenue rose by 26% year-on-year to US$13.3bn for the first nine months of 2017 from US$10.6bn in the same period in 2016. Its net profit more than doubled to US$588m from US$175m. CNBM and China National Materials Company (Sinoma) formerly entered into a merger agreement in September 2017.