September 2024
PPC Zimbabwe invests US$75m on Harare plant in 2015 11 March 2015
Zimbabwe: PPC Zimbabwe intends to invest US$75m in 2015 on its Harare cement mill to develop its export market. The mill will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2016 according to PPC Zimbabwe managing director Njombo Lekula. The cement producer is also spending US$6.4m on production upgrades at its Bulawayo and Colleen Bawn cement plants.
Lekula told local press that PPC Zimbabwe's export market had been cut by 40% due to the strengthening of the US dollar. However, he expected the export market to improve in the remainder of 2015.
India: The Indian government has published a list of 36 companies committed to supplying 9.5Mt of cement in 2015 for road building. The cement will be sold at a price below market rates with a fixed upper limit of US$2.70/bag. The Ministry has decided to build concrete cement roads in place of traditional bitumen roads as it views them as cost-effective and requiring less maintenance.
"After taking consent of the manufacturers we have put the list on a dedicated website, which any company or government agency can access to book their orders. Since the factories are spread all over the country, they can make the best choice. As per the contract, manufacturers can only reduce the price and increase their commitment to supply more cement," said road transport minister Nitin Gadkari. "Once the reduced price is out, it will have effect on other manufacturers and prices across companies may fall," he added.
PPC considers AfriSam merger proposal 11 March 2015
South Africa: The board of PPC are considering an indicative non-binding proposal from AfriSam Group for a merger between the two cement producing companies. PPC will make a further announcement once its board had concluded the consideration process, according to Pretoria News. The Public Investment Corporation, the managers of the Government Employees Pension Fund, holds a 12.6% share of PPC and a 66% share of AfriSam.
Cementos Molins to replace managing director 11 March 2015
Spain: Cementos Molins plans to replace its managing director Joan Molins Amat, who has been in post since 1967. An executive outside the Molins family has been appointed to take over the role but no further details have been released. Joan Molins Amat, aged 73 years , will be named president of Cementos Molins, replacing his uncle Casimiro Molins Ribot, aged 93 years, who has held the position since 1945.
Egypt/Ethipopia: ASEC Engineering and Management, a subsidiary of Egypt's Qalaa Holdings, has signed a one-year plant management agreement with Ethiopia's National Cement Share Company.
As per the deal, Asec will provide full technical assistance to National Cement Share Company for the operation and maintenance of the 1Mt/yr capacity cement plant. ASEC will also utilise its know-how and expertise to help National Cement Share Company to boost production volumes, cut production costs and improve product quality. Under the contract, ASEC will also introduce and implement systems for all aspects of production, quality, maintenance, warehousing and human resources, among other areas.
"This is a result of the continued efforts of ASEC Engineering and its ambitious plans to expand its business into Sub-Saharan Africa after its successful contract with Cimento Nacional Company in Mozambique," said ASEC Engineering CEO Khaled El Sebaie.
Europe: Holcim's largest stakeholder, Thomas Schmidheiny, wants a better deal for the Holcim's shareholders in its planned merger with Lafarge, according to Swiss Newspaper SonntagsZeitung, which cited people close to Schmidheiny.
The merger with France's Lafarge to create the world's biggest cement company was agreed on 7 April 2015, but analysts have since flagged a potential divergence between the two companies' earnings prospects, raising the possibility of a renegotiation of terms.
SonntagsZeitung said that Holcim board member Schmidheiny, who owns 20.1% of the company according to Thomson Reuters data, sees two possible solutions. One is to weigh the exchange ratio of shares in favour of Holcim investors. Another is a special dividend. The paper also quoted another board member as saying the deal will not work in its current form, which includes each Lafarge share being swapped for one Holcim share.
SonntagsZeitung has also reported that Swiss shareholder group Ethos, which represents around 200 pension funds, is against the deal as it stands and will tell Holcim's board that it will advise members to vote against the merger unless there is a change to the exchange ratio.
Tvornica Cementa Kakanj expects flat output in 2015 10 March 2015
Bosnia: Bosnia's Tvornica Cementa Kakanj (TCK) has forecast that its cement output will be flat in 2015 after producing 420,000t in 2014, according to company director Branimir Muidza. TCK is majority-owned by Dutch-based CEEM Investment, a unit of Germany's HeidelbergCement.
"Our cement production fell by around 10% in 2014, which was probably the most difficult year since the war for the Bosnian economy and its citizens. The country went through political turmoil in February 2014, followed by record floods in May 2014 and August 2014 and elections in October 2014," said Muidza.
Extraordinarily high rainfall affected Bosnia and Herzegovina between 14 May 2014 and 19 May 2014, the largest precipitation in 120 years. The European Union's delegation in Bosnia said in July 2014 that the cost of the total economic impact from the subsequent devastating floods that hit large parts of Bosnia was Euro2bn.
TCK's total revenues are projected to stagnate in 2015, given that in the first quarter of the year there will be no new major infrastructure works. Those that are expected to resume will mainly do so in the second half of the year. TCK's business outlook for 2015 is based on the low purchasing power of the population, a lack of foreign investments, political instability, a decline in personal consumption of building materials, job insecurity and the expected dynamics and intensity of planned public infrastructure works. Bosnia is expected to consume 1.1 - 1.2Mt in 2015, mostly unchanged from 2014.
Muidza is much more optimistic for 2016 onwards. Large government investments in public infrastructure and energy facilities, such as the pan-European Corridor, new units at thermal power plants Tuzla and Ugljevik and the new hydro power plant Vranduk, could help boost demand for construction materials in the country.
TCK plans to build a new Euro10.2m cement silo by 2018. Construction is expected to start later in 2015. There are also plans to install equipment that will enable the rail transport of bulk cement. During 2015, TCK will also finish a Euro1.53m project for the automation of its cement milling and packing operations.
German cement consumption increases to 27.1Mt in 2014 10 March 2015
Germany: Around 27.1Mt of cement was used in Germany in 2014. This represents a 2.2% increase in consumption as compared with 2013. The German Cement Works Association (VDZ) is also predicting further growth for 2015.
"Significant catch-up effects from 2013 and mild weather really bolstered cement consumption, particularly in the first quarter of 2014," said Gerhard Hirth, president of the VDZ. However, the generally reserved economic climate had a dampening effect on construction investment over the rest of the year. "We experienced considerable increases in demand all year, mainly in housing," said Hirth. "In addition, due to the advantages of concrete construction in multi-storey buildings, cement manufacturers have managed to further increase their market share over recent years."
Domestic cement demand for cement was almost completely covered by German manufacturers in 2014. Just 1.2Mt, or 4%, was imported in 2014. Cement and clinker exports fell slightly year-on-year to 6.2Mt.
According to Hirth, the German cement industry has started 2015 with a positive outlook. "Due to the dynamic overall economic development and the continuing high demand for new housing, we are expecting growth of around 1% in cement consumption to approx. 27.3Mt in 2015," said Hirth.
Lafarge and Holcim forge ahead with LafargeHolcim merger 09 March 2015
Europe: As announced on 7 April 2014, Holcim and Lafarge have entered into a business combination agreement on terms previously agreed, subject to various closing conditions. The transaction must be approved by 66% of Holcim's shareholders in an extraordinary general meeting, while 66% of Lafarge's shareholders will need to accept Holcim's exchange offer launched pursuant to French takeover rules.
India: Jaiprakash Associates is planning an integrated cement plant project in Dalla, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh. The project includes a 2.20Mt/yr clinker plant and a 1.50Mt/yr grinding plant. The site currently has a 2Mt/yr clinker plant, a 500,000t/yr grinding plant, a 27MW power plant and six captive limestone mines. The project is waiting for environmental clearance.