September 2024
Raysut Cement’s third quarter net profit falls by 8.5% 13 October 2015
Oman: Raysut Cement has reported an 8.5% decrease in its net profit in the third quarter of 2015, according to Reuters. The company made US$12.6m in the three months that ended on 30 September 2015, compared with US$13.7m in the same period of 2014. Two analysts polled by Reuters have forecast that Raysut Cement would make a quarterly net profit of US$10.9 – 11.1m.
Eurocement President inspects Leningrad region plants 13 October 2015
Russia: Eurocement President Mikhail Skorokhod visited several key cement plants in the Leningrad region recently.
Key performance indicators of Peterburgcement were evaluated positively at the end of August 2015. "The company shows strong growth and consistently high product quality. This is the result of the work of a highly professional close-knit team. Today, the team is facing new tasks and new challenges and it is planned to reach the historical record and produce 1.86Mt of cement in 2016," said Mikhail Skorokhod. Reducing costs and consistently high product quality, according to Skorokhod, will allow Peterburgcement to increase its market share in the Leningrad and neighbouring areas and reduce imports of inferior quality cement from neighbouring countries.
During his visit, Skorokhod appointed Dmitry Zibaev as the new Peterburgcement plant CEO. Skorokhod said that Dmitry Zibaev has considerable experience in the industry and in-depth knowledge of all processes of cement production. Dmitry Zibaev graduated from Belgorod State University of Technology. He started his career as a Maintenance Foreman in Lafarge Cement. He moved from Mechanical Engineer to the Deputy General Director of Peterburgcement.
Skorokhod also inspected the production process at Pikalevskiy Cement plant during his visit to the Leningrad region. He set the task to increase control over the quality of clinker. "Pikalevskiy Cement has high trust and reputation among customers and clients. The plant staff should not only meet the customers' expectations, but also raise the bar," said Skorokhod. He expressed the view that the decision taken recently by the Russian Government to introduce mandatory certification of cement will set the barrier to low-quality and counterfeit basic construction material and it will lead to higher work level of the plant. Technical Engineers of Pikalevskiy Cement have improved the clinker quality in recent months. Talking about the construction of a new dry line at the plant, Skorokhod said that the company intends to consistently implement its modernisation programme at its plants.
Steppe Cement’s third quarter revenue and sales volumes up 13 October 2015
Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has disclosed a rise in its third quarter 2015 revenue and sales volume. Its revenue rose to US$28.2m compared with US$27.8m in the same period of 2014. Some 630,329t of cement was sold during the third quarter of 2015, up by 8% year-on-year. For the nine months that ended on 30 September 2015, Steppe Cement's revenue fell to US$58.3m from US$60.9m in the same period of 2014.
Mozambique: Cimentos da Beira, the newest cement producer in Mozambique, plans to export some of its cement to neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi, in addition to supplying the domestic market, according to the Managing Director of the company, Wouter Trollip.
The plant, with an installed cement production capacity of 800,000t/yr, is expected to start operating later in October 2015, after tests of the substation that will supply electricity are complete. Trollip said that the plant already has 40,000t of clinker in stock in order to start cement production as soon as the power supply is guaranteed. With British and South African investment of US$45m, Cimentos da Beira employs 70 workers. Sofala Province now has three cement plants, including Cimentos de Moçambique and the recent Austral Ciment, an Austrian investment, both located in Dondo.
Dangote Cement launches US$600m Tanzanian cement plant 13 October 2015
Tanzania: With its cement plants across Africa undergoing expansion and new investments in Asia, Dangote Cement has unveiled plans to attain a production capacity of 81Mt/yr before 2020, as it commissions its US$600m plant in Tanzania.
The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said that the company is currently consolidating its cement businesses across Africa to reap the benefits of scale, adding that its operational offshore cement plants have started to make substantial contributions to group revenue. Dangote added that the pan-African drive will aid the company's plan to do a listing in London and Johannesburg in the near future, with an intention to consolidate the cement assets into one company that will have the scale and resources to compete globally.
Speaking at the commissioning of Tanzanian cement plant in Mtwara, Dangote explained the choice of Tanzania for investment, stating that the existing supply gap has been inadequate in meeting local demand, while noting the need to boost export supply in the eastern Africa regional bloc.
"The construction sector is a major emerging component of the Tanzanian economy that has been receiving the attention of investors. This makes it an ideal market for cement production. The existing cement manufacturers have historically been unable to satisfy local demand, which has been filled by imports. As essential economy-driven infrastructure continues to be built to improve electricity supply and the transport network, additional demand for cement can be expected. The Dangote Cement investment will certainly contribute to Tanzania's on-going story of infrastructure development, job creation and broad economic development. Our strategy is to invest in countries that offer investors attractive returns on investment as well as provide them with an enabling environment to operate. It is our sincere belief that our US$600m investment in Tanzania will further speed up infrastructural development and complement the government's efforts in stimulating economic growth and creating jobs. When in full production, this plant will make Tanzania self-sufficient in cement, with a lot of cement for export to neighbouring countries," said Dangote.
Azerbaijan to double production of building materials 12 October 2015
Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan plans to double its production of building materials including cement in the next five years, according to a draft concept of socio-economic development for 2016 - 2019, which is currently under review in the Parliament under the budget package.
"In the following years, it is planned to expand the production of building materials and bring the quality of the products to international standards. Supplementary investments will be raised in this area, as well as modern eco-designed technology introduced, and the exports of local building materials promoted," according to the draft.
The government expects that in 2015, Azerbaijan will produce US$555m of construction materials and building material production growth will increase by 9.3%. In 2016, these figures are expected to reach US$608m and 6.1%, respectively, and in 2017, building material production growth may reach 13.1% at US$708m. In 2018, growth could reach 20.3% to US$871m, while in 2019, building material production growth could reach 16.2% to US$1.03bn. However, according to government forecasts, the construction sector is expected decline by 4.6% in 2016. The total volume of construction in the 12 months is expected to stand at US$17.5bn.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Sevinj Aliyeva said the decline of the construction sector continues against the background of cuts in public investments. "Measures to attract additional sources of financing, the use of new financing mechanisms in the housing market and the expansion of mortgage lending are particularly important to revive the construction sector," said Aliyeva.
The construction market in Azerbaijan is going through changes after recent economic shocks, including a fall in oil prices and the devaluation of the Azeri Manat. The overall standstill in the market continues as real estate prices fluctuate.
Three arrested in Ghana for re-bagging cement 12 October 2015
Ghana: Three people have been arrested for allegedly re-bagging cached foreign cement in Ghacem branded bags and selling them to the public.
Samuel Azu, Francis Cato and Philp Quarcoo were apprehended by the Tema Community 2 District Police in Community 11, Tema, Ghana. They are said to be head porters of Sol Cement, which is imported from China. The three suspects would be charged with the offense of forging trademark contrary to section 161, Act 2960. Five of their accomplices are currently on run. It is believed that the suspects also go to construction sites where they pick empty Ghacem branded bags and fill them with the inferior cement for sale to retail shops at cheaper prices.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Juliana Obeng, Tema Regional Police spokeswoman, who briefed local media, said that the suspects were in the process of re-bagging the inferior cement when the police swooped on them upon a tip-off. She said that the arrest was effected on 7 Wednesday 2015 at about 6pm. According to her, the suspects also buy empty Ghacem bags from unknown sources believed to be working in the company. Obeng noted that the suspects, who admitted the offence, said that they had received the cement as gift from Sol Cement Company and decided to re-bag it.
Goerge Dawson-Ahmoah, Strategy and Corporate Affairs Director of Ghacem, told local media that the incident could tarnish the image of Ghacem and that they would collaborate with police to punish the offenders to serve as deterrent to others. He advised buyers to always check the seals anytime they purchase Ghacem products, adding that bags that have glues are likely to have been re-bagged. Dawson-Ahmoah urged retailers to desist from buying products at cheaper prices with the intention of selling them to the public in order to make more profit.
DG Khan Cement to set up new plant at Hub 12 October 2015
Pakistan: DG Khan Cement plans to set up a new cement plant at Hub to meet growing demand of cement in the country, particularly in Karachi.
DG Cement Director of Marketing Fareed Fazal said that the new plant produce 10,000t/day of clinker. Fareed said that the company's cement was being exported regularly to Northern Africa and Sri Lanka, among others. In addition, Fazal said that recently France had expressed willingness to import bagged cement from DG Khan Cement and that efforts were afoot to meet the production requirement. The French importers, however, have requested 35kg bags instead of the standard 50kg.
Huaxin Cement to launch 5Mt/yr cement plant in Kazakhstan 12 October 2015
Kazakhstan: Huaxin Cement plans to a 5Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Kazakhstan. The plant would use a dry-process cement line and will start construction by the end of 2015. The project will cost around US$111m.
Vicem Hoang Mai Cement to build cement plant in Nghe An 12 October 2015
Vietnam: Vicem Hoang Mai Cement JSC has announced plans to build a cement plant at an estimated cost of US$480m in Nghe An. The Hoang Mai Cement 2 plant will be constructed in the 2016 - 2020 period in two phases, providing more than 2Mt/yr of cement after the completion of each phase. The products will be sold in the central region and will be exported as well.