September 2024
Nepal: FLSmidth has signed a contract to build a cement grinding line for Nepal Shalimar Cement. The agreement includes the engineering, procurement and supply of equipment for a 35t/hr ordinary Portland cement grinding unit (3200 Blaine) at the company’s existing plant at Simara, Bara District.
The contract comprises a range of equipment, including an FLSmidth OK 19-3 vertical mill, bag filters, weigh feeders, truck loading machine, OK mill gear reducer and plant control systems. Completion is scheduled for the second quarter of 2018.
"The project is an example that world class energy-efficient technology can be applied even for smaller capacity grinding units. Our technological competences and a strong local presence allow us to support many emerging markets, including Nepal," said Country Head of FLSmidth India, Carsten Riisberg Lund.
US: Eagle Materials’ revenue has risen by 23% year-on-year to US$366.1m in the first quarter of its 2018 fiscal year, which runs 1 April – 30 June 2017. Its first quarter earnings before interest and income taxes increased by 22%, reflecting improved sales volumes and net sales prices across nearly all businesses and the financial results of the recently acquired cement plant in Fairborn, Ohio with related assets.
Cement revenues for the first quarter, including joint venture and intersegment revenues, came to US$183m, a rise of 26% year-on-year. The average net sales price rose by 6%. Total cement sales volumes increased by 21% to 1.5Mt. Like-for-like average net cement sales prices and sales volumes increased by 4% and 7%, respectively.
Operating earnings from Eagle Materials’ cement activities for the first quarter were a record US$43.2m, 37% higher than the same quarter of the 2017 fiscal year. The earnings improvement was driven primarily by improved average net cement sales prices and cement sales volumes and earnings from its Fairborn Business. During the quarter, its Nevada cement plant experienced reduced production in connection with the installation of certain pollution control equipment to enable the plant to burn solid-waste fuels. The ability to use solid-waste fuel will lower energy costs in the future. The reduced production negatively affected the absorption of operating costs at the cement plant during the quarter. The project is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2017.
Greece: The US market has continued to drive Titan Group’s sales in the first half of 2017. Its overall turnover rose by 6.9% year-on-year to Euro774m in the first half of 2017 from Euro724m in the same period in 2016. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 18.9% to Euro142m from Euro120m. Over half of its turnover came from the US where the group noted rises in residential and infrastructure construction following economic growth and increased employment.
In the group’s other territories the situation was mixed, with the Greek construction market remaining depressed. Here cement consumption declined in the first half of 2017 following the end of several larger scale infrastructure projects during the early months of the year. Markets in Southeastern Europe delivered higher turnover but profits were hit by raising energy costs. Egypt continued to be negatively affected by the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound, although the group did manage to recapture sales volumes by increasing its fuel grinding capacity. Local competition arising from the start up of two new plants near to where its Adoçim subsidiary operates decreased sales volumes in Turkey and the construction market continued to decline in Brazil.
US: Roanoke Cement, a subsidiary of Titan America, has achieved its 11th consecutive annual certification in the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star certification for its Troutville plant in Virginia. To qualify for the certification the cement producer was required to perform in the top 25% of cement plants nationwide for total energy efficiency (thermal and electrical) and meet strict environmental performance levels set by the EPA.
“Roanoke Cement Company’s plant sits in the Roanoke Valley, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The stakes are higher for us, surrounded by all that beauty, to perform at the pinnacle of the cement industry in energy efficiency,” said Chris Bayne, Roanoke Cement’s Energy Manager.
Germany: Schmersal Group has entered into a sales partnership with ScanMin Africa to extend its range of system solutions for the bulk goods industry. Schmersal will add spectral analysis and measurement systems for bulk goods on conveyor belts to its range of integrated system products. ScanMin Africa will distribute safety products made by Schmersal.
“We can now offer extended system solutions that contribute to our customer’s ability to produce more productively and profitably in bulk goods conveying and also the downstream processes,” said Udo Sekin, Business Development Manager Heavy Industry within the Schmersal Group.
Germany’s Schmersal Group develops and produces a range of about 25,000 different switchgear and control devices. South Africa’s ScanMin Africa specialises in the manufacture and distribution of on line process analysers.
Cemex shows steady performance in first half of 2017 27 July 2017
Mexico: Cemex’s consolidated net sales fell slightly to US$3.6bn year-on-year for the second quarter of 2017. However, on a like-for-like basis taking into account only ongoing operations and foreign exchange fluctuation, its net sales rose by 2%. This rise was attributed to positive currency variations in Mexico and the US, as well as higher sales volumes in Europe.
However, the group’s operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 8% to US$696m due to lower contributions from South, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe and Asia, Middle East and Africa regions, partially offset by higher contributions in Mexico and the US. Globally, Cemex sold 17.9Mt of cement in the second quarter of 2017, a 3% fall year-on-year. In the first half of the year it sold 33.9Mt of cement. Overall, Cemex’s net sales rose by 3% on a like-for-like basis to US$6.7bn in the first of 2017 and its operating EBITDA fell by 4% on a like-for-like basis to US$1.33bn.
“Our second quarter operating and financial performance was essentially in line with our expectations as of the first quarter: good results in Mexico, the US and Europe; increasing challenges in Colombia and Egypt, and to a much lesser extent the Philippines,” said Fernando A Gonzalez, chief executive officer (CEO).
By region, in Mexico Cemex’s net sales came to US$810m for the second quarter and US$1.53bn for the first half, a rise of 7% compared to the first half of 2016. In the US its net sales came to US$916m for the second quarter and US$1.73bn for the first half, a 1% fall year-on-year. In South & Central America and the Caribbean, sales brought in US$479m in the second quarter and US$958m in the first half, a fall of 6% on a like-for-like basis. In Europe the second quarter saw a 2% improvement in cement sales to US$934m, while the first half saw US$1.67bn of sales, a 3% like-for-like rise. In Asia, the Middle East and Africa, sales were US$327m in the second quarter and US$653m, a 7% like-for-like fall year-on-year.
Philippines: Holcim Philippines is set to invest US$54m over the next two years to expand capacity and brace for ‘cut-throat’ competition that it says has affected is profitability. In the first six months of 2017, Holcim Philippines’ net profit fell by 42.6% year-on-year to US$41.5m on the back of a 16.7% decline in net sales to US$344.2m. For the second quarter alone, its net profit slumped by 46.2% year-on-year to US$22.9m. The decline in income was attributed by the company to lower sales alongside higher production input costs. Nonetheless, the company said that it would continue to invest to raise its cement production capacity from 10Mt/yr to 12Mt/yr to support demand as the government rolls out its flagship infrastructure projects.
In a statement Holcim Philippines president and chief executive Sapna Sood said that the investment indicated the company's continued commitment to the development of the country and its customers. "Our investments ensure that Holcim Philippines will continue to provide a reliable supply of an essential building material as cement demand increases in the country as these projects come on stream," she said. "The company will invest US$54m in the next two years to add 2Mt/yr to its current cement capacity by the first half of 2019, particularly in La Union and Davao."
Boral applies for new grinding plant 27 July 2017
Australia: Boral Cement has ¬applied to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to run a 1.3Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Geelong in Melbourne, Victoria for 24 hours per day. The proposed facility would enable the company to unload from ships to be delivered to the production site via covered belt conveyors.
“The new site is directly adjacent to the wharf complex, which would allow efficient unloading of clinker from ships,” a Boral spokesman said when the company first raised the concept in late 2016. “Importantly, the site is also surrounded by other large industrial premises, meaning it is well separated and largely hidden from residential areas.” Boral has also proposed constructing new equipment, including an enclosed ball mill and covered store, outdoor product stockpiles and clinker unloading and delivery infrastructure.
EPA development assessments manager Tim Faragher said that Boral Cement required a works approval before starting any construction works on the clinker grinding mill. “Work approvals are ¬required for industrial and waste management activities that have the potential for ¬significant environmental impact,” said Faragher. The EPA now has four months to make a decision on Boral’s application.
Siam Cement Group downgrades forecast for 2017 27 July 2017
Thailand: Siam Cement Group has revised down its sales growth outlook for 2017 to 3 – 5 % from 5 - 10%, following an unexpected drop in cement demand in the first half of the year. The group's net profit in the April to June period was US$396m, a decrease of 17% year-on-year, on sales of US$3.2bn, unchanged from the same period of 2016.
"The cement market in Thailand slowed down more than we expected," explained Chief Executive Roongrote Rangsiyopash. Net profits in cement and building materials, one of its three core business units, slid by 29%.
Roongrote said that government infrastructure projects, which are being increasingly approved and going through bidding procedures, had not yet reached the stage of actually needing cement.
Domestic cement sales by volume were down by 7% year-on-year in the April-June period, following an earlier 7% fall in the previous quarter. Demand in all sectors, from the government, commercial construction and residential buildings, declined. "I hope that the latter half of the year will improve, but I am not sure that we can make up for the decline in the first half," added Roongrote.
Adding to the slow domestic market, other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets also saw sluggish cement demand, although Roongrote shrugged off concerns, saying that the slump had been caused by ‘temporary factors.’
Cement overload in Vietnam 26 July 2017
Last week we looked at the prospect of two new Angolan cement plants, a situation that will reportedly lead the country to being ‘self sufficient in cement.’ When we hear this phrase, very often from relatively small markets in Africa or Asia, the obvious next step invariably follows: The country in question will become a regional powerhouse for cement exports.
But try telling that to the desperate Vietnamese cement producers, swamped by chronic overcapacity and very low prices, both at home and abroad. In an effort to shift more of Vietnam’s cement mountain, this week the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) proposed big changes to its handling of cement exports. At the moment cement is subject to a 5% export tax and does not receive VAT refunds. This means that Vietnamese cement has become less competitive than Chinese, Thai, Indonesian and Japanese cement on the regional market, compounding the oversupply situation at home.
The MPI now proposes to scrap the tax and allow for VAT refunds to avoid a colossal 36-47Mt oversupply of cement by 2020. It is quite staggering that this response hasn’t been considered before. This is especially the case, given that the VICEM’s General Director Tran Viet Thang asked for the government to look at the rules back in February 2017. Indeed the Vietnam Cement Association predicted an oversupply of nearly 50Mt/yr by 2020 in January 2017.
Vietnam exported 14.7Mt of cement and clinker in 2016 according to its domestic statistics service. The country was the seventh largest exporter of cement and clinker in 2016 in value terms, with a total value of US$431.7m. China, as one might suspect, topped the list, but only at US$683.6m, around 58% more than Vietnam. Given that China’s cement capacity is around 20 times that of Vietnam, this highlights the extent to which Vietnam is trying to rely on imports.
A market-led response to this would be to close some of the cement plants down and stop commissioning any new ones. China has made some inroads into this approach and Vietnam is following suit… to some extent. That said, however, Trinh Dinh Dung, the Deputy Prime Minster, inaugurated the second production line at the Thanh Thang Cement plant on 4 July 2017 and Long Son Cement will open its second production line at Long Son in late August 2017. That new line will add nearly another 3Mt/yr of capacity to the national total just by itself. On top of this, Thai-owned Siam City Cement Vietnam opened a new ‘terminal’ in Vietnam in late June. Thailand ranked above Vietnam in the cement and clinker export list for 2016 at US$612.2m, suggesting that, contrary to the obvious implication, the port could even be used to ship out Thai exports into Vietnam!
This is not the first time we have heard about Vietnam’s massive cement surplus but it is the first time that the government appears to have registered it as needing attention. A market-led economy would simply shut the plants down but Vietnam plays by different rules. Will changing the rules on tax help it sell out its surplus? Call us in 2020…