September 2024
Peru: Cementos Yura’s income has risen by 10% year-on-year to US$141m in the first half of 2016 from US$127m in the same period of 2015. Its net income rose by 21% to US$29m from US$24m.
The Peruvian cement producer’s sales volumes grew by 11% to 608,923t of cement in the second quarter of 2016 mainly due to a rise in local demand. Clinker sales volumes remained stable. Yura increased its market share to 22.4% in the quarter from 20.4% in the same period in 2015. Peru's total domestic cement sales remained table at 2.33Mt.
Italcementi’s revenue falls slightly before takeover 03 August 2016
Italy: Italcementi’s sales revenue has fallen by 2.1% year-on-year to Euro2.12bn in the first half of 2016 from Euro2.17bn in the same period in 2015. Its sales volumes of cement rose by 2.8% to 22.3Mt from 21.7Mt. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 44% to Euro177m from Euro316m. The cement producer blamed the revenue drop on negative currency effects, although sales volumes rose notably in North America. Its fall in EBITDA was attributed to group restructuring costs and an impairment on operations in Belgium for approximately Euro320m.
HeidelbergCement’s acquisition of Italcementi is expected to complete in the second half of 2016.
Hazemag wins order for El Arish cement plant 03 August 2016
Egypt: The government of Egypt has ordered crushers and apron feeders from Hazemag for its El Arish cement plant. The agreement includes six HAF 22116 apron feeders with spillage conveyor and six HPI 2025 primary impact crushers for each 1200t/hour of limestone with a feed size of up to 1500mm. This plant crushes the limestone to D95 < 75mm.
In addition Hazemag will supply six HAF 1480 apron feeders with spillage conveyor and six HRC 0816 double roll crushers each for crushing 400t/hour of clay with a feed size of up to 500mm to D95 < 75mm, as well as three HGI 1420 gypsum impact crusher for crushing 350t/hour of gypsum with a feed size of up to 800 mm to D90 < 40mm.
The cement plant has six new 6000t/day cement lines supplied by Chengdu Design & Research Institute of Building Materials Industry. The plant is expected to be completed in mid-2017.
Lee Gillman appointed as Sales and Marketing Director for Quinn Building Products in UK 03 August 2016
UK: Quinn Building Products has appointed Lee Gillman as its new Sales and Marketing Director for the UK. Lee has worked for Quinn’s commercial team for three years. He has been promoted to lead on the management and development of core products within the Quinn portfolio in the UK. His experience working with merchants and contractors is intended to help the company continue to grow its client base on a national level.
Romania: Veronica Dobre has been appointed as the new Communication Manager at Holcim Romania. She succeeds Ioana Borangic who worked for the company for six years.
Dobre, aged 35 years, holds a Public Relations degree from the UK Chartered Institute of Public Relations and graduated from Political Sciences as well as Communication and Public Relations at the National School of Political and Administrative Studies of Bucharest. She started her career at a public relations agency then worked for more than 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry, building experience in corporate and brand communications.
Christian Gagnon leaves McInnis Cement 03 August 2016
Canada: Christian Gagnon, the president and chief executive officer of McInnis Cement, has left the company. The board of directors announced the departure and said that the cement producer is currently recruiting his replacement. A new executive committee has been put in place to take over the management of the company until the vacancy has been filled. It is composed of the following members: Louis Laporte, Chief of Operations; Ronald Bougie, Executive Vice-President, Engineering, Construction and Operations; and Marc Baillargeon, Management Advisor acting on behalf of la Caisse.
In other changes to the company’s executive team, Ronald Bougie has been appointed with immediate effect as the Executive Vice-President, Engineering, Construction and Operations. Bougie has experience in the construction of large industrial projects including the Stornoway site, a project in which Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec invested. Until a new president and chief executive officer is appointed, Bougie will report directly to McInnis Cement’s Executive Committee. Bougie will have direct access to the Board of Directors to provide progress reports. The board will closely monitor the final stages of the site’s construction.
Zimbabwe PPC cement plant to be completed in 2016 02 August 2016
Zimbabwe: Darryll Castle, the CEO of PPC, has reassured shareholders that the construction of the group’s 0.7Mt/yr cement plant in Zimbabwe remains on schedule for completion in 2016. Castle said that the project makes sense from a cost-optimisation basis even if the volume isn’t required in the country. He made the comments at PPC’s extraordinary general meeting amid reports of rioting in the country and import restrictions on some South African goods, according to the Business Day newspaper. The project is one of four cement plants the cement producer is building in Africa outside of South Africa.
Qatar: Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC) has signed a financing deal with Saudi Arabia’s Samba Financial Group (Samba) for US$100m. The facility, which has a two-year grace period, will go towards financing the construction of the company’s fifth cement plant and should be repaid in three and half years.
QNCC signed a letter of intent with Fives FCB in 2014 to build the 5000t/day clinker production line at a cost of US$261m. The plant was expected to become operational within 27 months, according to local media. The company decided to build its fifth cement plant in response to an expected increase in demand in the run up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup being held in Qatar. In June 2016 QNCC also announced plans to close cement plant 1 with effect from the start of the month.
China: LafargeHolcim has signed a framework agreement with Tianjin Circle Enterprise Management Center (Tianjin Circle) to sell a controlling stake in Sichuan Shuangma Cement (Shuangma) for Euro469m. The multinational cement producer owns 55.93% of Shuangma. The sale is subject to approval from the shareholders of Shuangma and the completion of a mandatory offer for the shares of minority shareholders of Shuangma, as well as normal regulatory approval. The acquisition is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Under the terms of the agreement, Tianjin Circle has agreed an option to purchase the remaining shares in Shuangma from LafargeHolcim in 2018 for Euro147m. LafargeHolcim has also agreed an option to buy Shuangma’s cement assets, within a certain period after the sale closes, for around Euro358m. On this basis, the expected immediate impact on LafargeHolcim net debt of these agreements would have been a reduction of Euro112m.
Sichuan Shuangma is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and operates four integrated cement plants with a production capacity of 11Mt/yr.
Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement plant to open in Tajikistan 01 August 2016
Tajikistan: The Government of Tajikistan and the Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement company are set to open a 1.2Mt/yr cement plant in Yovon district, Khatlon province in August 2016 according to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies. The plant has an investment of US$120m and it will create 500 jobs, according to Asia-Plus news agency. Construction originally started in 2014.