September 2024
Russia: Sibirsky Cement’s cement production fell by 11% year-on-year to 1.4Mt in the first half of 2017. Particular declines were registered at its Topkinsky Cement and Timlyuysky Cement plants. The cement producer has blamed falling production on the poor economic situation in the region. Cement consumption in the Siberian federal district fell by 10% to 1.9Mt in the five months to 31 May 2017. The majority of this cement is used for residential construction.
Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has counteracted falling sales volumes with a price rise. Its sales volumes of cement fell by 15% year-on-year to 0.65Mt in the first half of 2017 from 0.76Mt in the same period in 2016. However, its sales revenue rose by 4% to US$26m from US$25m.
Overall the cement producer said that the country’s cement market contracted by 1% during the reporting period. Cement shipments from local producers rose by 5% though as imports remained flat and exports doubled due to favourable foreign exchange rates. Steppe Cement’s local market share fell to 15% from 18% but its exports rose markedly to 11% of its sales from 4%. The cement producer forecasts that the country as a whole will consume 9Mt of cement in 2017.
India: ACC’s sales have risen as its Jamul cement plant in Chhattisgarh has ramped-up production increasing its presence in the east of the country. Its sales rose by 12.7% year-on-year to US$1bn in the first half of 2017 from US$888m in the same period in 2016. Its cement sales volumes rose by 6.9% to 13.3Mt from 12.5Mt. Its net profit after tax rose by 12.5% to US$83m from US$74m. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim also launched two new brands – ACC Suraksha and ACC HPC – in the preceding quarter.
India: The Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) says that demand for cement is likely to grow in the second half of the Indian financial year due to the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) and increased infrastructure spending. The cement industry is also expected to benefit from a 30% reduction in logistic costs due to simplified state border checks, according to the Press Trust of India. The CMA’s forecast follows a fall in growth for the cement industry in the previous financial year.
India: The Cement Corporation of India (CCI) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the owner of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant to build a 2Mt/yr slag and fly ash cement plant. RINL will provide the blast furnace slag and fly ash for the project. The plant is expected to cost US$23m and it will take 15 months once the deal is finalised.
Angola: Nova Cimangola has inaugurated a new 2.4Mt/yr cement plant at Cacuaco in Luanda. China’s Sinoma International Engineering built the US$400m plant in 21 months, according to the Jornal de Angola newspaper. Investment for the project came from Nova Cimangola and Ciminvest, its main shareholder.
The new unit is intended to repalace Nova Cimangola’s existing cement plant at Kikolo near Luanda, which has limited limestone reserves. The new plant occupies an area of 700 hectares with larger mineral reserves. Following the start-up of the plant Nova Cimangola’s production will rise to 3.6Mt/yr from 1.8Mt/yr. The new plant will also create 200 jobs, 85% of which are expected to go to local workers.
Ukraine: Pavel Kachur, the head of the Ukrainian cement producers association Ukrcement, has accused imports of cement from Belarus of not following the proper certification process. He said that imported cement had not been tested properly in an independent laboratory, according to Interfax-Ukraine. He also complained about energy subsidies for Belarusian cement that make it more competitive internationally and noted that Belarus is closed to exports of cement from the Ukraine.
Fire reported at Djebel El Ouest cement plant 17 July 2017
Tunisia: Fire fighters have controlled a fire that broke out at the Djebel El Ouest cement plant. The fire started on the ground floor of the plant, according to Tunis Afrique Presse. It then damaged electrical cabling and equipment. It is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit in an electrical machine caused by rising temperatures. No casualties have been reported.
India: JSW Cement has released its first commercial product from its 2.4Mt/yr Salboni plant in West Bengal, 18 months after construction work began at the site. The first load of cement was sent on a truck to a client in nearby Tarapith. JSW Cement’s director Biswadip Gupta said that it was one of the fastest greenfield cement plant projects in India in recent years. “We have not lost a single man-day during the construction of the project,” he added.
However, those that have been forced from their land to allow for the construction of the plant remain unhappy that the project has gone ahead, with the secretary of the JSW Landlosers’ Welfare Association Pariskar Mahato stating that they had not even received an invitation to the inauguration event. He added, “There is resentment among land losers. We should get jobs in the project, but the management is recruiting people from outside.”
Oman Cement reports on first half of 2017 14 July 2017
Oman: Oman Cement has announced that its net profit after tax for the first half of 2017 was US$13m, a fall of 27% year-on-year compared to the same period of 2016 when it made US$17.7m. Its sales for the first half were US$76.4m, a smaller fall of just 2.3% compared to the first half of 2016, when sales were US$78.2m. This is indicative of higher input costs for the company.