September 2024
Loesche supplies mill to Hub plant 26 July 2017
Pakistan: Loesche has provided an LM 56.3+3 CS vertical roller mill for cement grinding to Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd (ACPL). The new mill will be used in the new line three of the cement plant in Hub Chowki in Pakistan, in the Lasbela/Baluchistan district, 20km north of Karachi. The mills will grind OPC cement with a fineness of 3300 Blaine at a capacity of 200t/hr or 2800 Blaine at a capacity of 240t/hr.
Alongside the delivery of the mill, the Loesche mandate also includes the monitoring and assembly as well as the commissioning, which is due to take place in mid-2017. The Chinese company Hefei Cement Research & Design Institute, with which Loesche has successfully delivered mills on a regular basis, will act as Loesche’s contractor and will assume overall responsibility for the new cement line.
India: The Cement Manufacturers' Association (CMA) has elected Mahendra Singhi, the group chief executive officer (CEO) and director of Dalmia Cement (Bharat), as its new vice president. Singhi has previously served as president of the Rajasthan Manufacturers Association. He is a science and law graduate by training and also a chartered accountant.
Spain: Sergio Martínez Hernández has been appointed as the new director of LafargeHolcim’s Carboneras cement plant in Almería. Martínez Hernández holds over 24 years of experience in the cement industry, according to Teleprensa. He joined Holcim in 1993 after training as an engineer at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII) in Madrid. During his career he has worked at plants in Gádor in Almería, Yepes in Toledo and Portland in Colorado, USA.
India: Shri C Madhusudana Rao has resigned as a director and a committee member of Kakatiya Cement Sugar & Industries on personal grounds. His departure took effect on 24 July 2017.
LafargeHolcim beats expectations so far in 2017 26 July 2017
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has released its results for the second quarter and first half of 2017. Its net sales were up by 3.6% on a like-for-like basis in the quarter and its operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 10.1% on a like-for-like basis, driven by pricing, cost discipline and synergies.
During the second quarter the group saw net sales of Euro6.16bn and an operating EBITDA of Euro1.6bn. Its net income rose to Euro707.6m, a rise of 38% from the same period in 2016 when it made Euro512.2m.
In the first half of 2017 LafargeHolcim’s net sales were Euro11.2bn, a 4.4% like-for-like improvement compared to the first half of 2016. Its operating EBITDA was Euro2.28bn and its recurring net income was Euro611.9m, a rise of 39% compared to Euro440.3m.
Beat Hess, Chairman and interim CEO said, "LafargeHolcim delivered positive earnings growth for the fifth consecutive quarter supported by favourable pricing, cost discipline and synergies. The unique strengths of our balanced portfolio are once again evident in our results with key countries such as the US, India, Nigeria and, notably this quarter, Mexico making significant contributions to earnings, more than offsetting headwinds in some of our markets. On that basis, and with our performance to date, we remain confident that we will achieve our full year guidance and our 2018 targets.”
Iraq slaps 45% tariff on Iranian cement 26 July 2017
Iran/Iraq: Iraq has imposed a 45% tariff on cement import from Iran, according to the head of non-metal mine products and the Department of Ministry of Industries and Business in Iran. Seifollah Amiri of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce said, “Currently, only exporting clinker to Iraq is possible.”
Iran exported 12Mt of cement worth US$695m in the Iranian fiscal year that ran to 19 March 2017. Iraq took US$441m worth of material. Assuming that all exports are the same price per tonne, this equates to around 7.6Mt of cement.
Ukrainian cement production rises marginally 25 July 2017
Ukraine: Cement production in Ukraine rose by 2.6% to 0.96Mt in June 2017 compared to sales in May 2017, according to data from the State Statistics Service. In the first six months of 2017 production of cement rose by 1.3% year-on-year to 4.23Mt. In 2016 production rose by 7.1% compared to 2015 to 9.1Mt. However, with a total capacity of 20Mt/yr, this implies a capacity utilisation factor of just 46%.
UNACEM profit up in second quarter of 2017 25 July 2017
Peru: Union Andina de Cementos (UNACEM) recorded a profit of US$17.0m in the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 26.8% from a profit of US$13.4m in the same year-earlier period. The firm's profit for the first half of 2017 stood at US$120.2m, up from US$110.4m in the first half of 2016. Net sales totalled US$143.2m in the second quarter of 2017, almost the same level recorded in 2016. The company’s cement sales fell by 4.5% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2017.
Castle to step down as PPC’s CEO 24 July 2017
South Africa: PPC has announced that its CEO Darryll Castle will be stepping down to pursue other interests. In a statement PPC said that Castle will remain ‘available’ to the group for six months to ensure a smooth handover. Johan Claassen, the current managing director of PPC, has been appointed as the interim CEO.
PPC reported a 93% fall in full-year earnings in June 2017 due to a liquidity crisis precipitated by the cut in its credit rating to junk status.
Meanwhile, the resignation of Tito Mboweni, one of PPC’s independent non-executive directors has fuelled speculation in the South African press about the ongoing merger discussions between PPC and Afrisam. Some believe that there may be ‘irreconcilable disagreement’ between Mboweni and the wider board about the strategic direction of PPC with respect to Afrisam.
US: The Southern Trinity Groundwater Conservation District water district in Texas’ McLennan County is seeking an injunction against Lehigh Cement, alleging that the business is improperly pumping millions of litres of water from the Trinity Aquifer without necessary permits at its plant in Waco. It claims that the plant owes thousands of dollars for its water use over the past decade and possibly more in civil penalties for pumping water from a well without a permit.
The lawsuit asks Judge Vicki Menard to issue an injunction to block Lehigh from drawing water from a well on its property at 100 S. Wickson Road until the company obtains a permit.
Water district general manager Scooter Radcliffe said he hopes the matter can be resolved without the need for an injunction. "We are going to try to work with them the best way we can and try to get them to contact us so we can get this thing resolved as quickly as possible," Radcliffe said.