September 2024
Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe plant upgrade on the table 03 February 2015
Zimbabwe: Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe is going ahead with plans to upgrade its plant to increase capacity from 390,000t/yr to 450,000t/yr. The upgrade will cost US$15 – 20m, according to Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe CEO Amal Tantawi.
"Lafarge has a nominal capacity. We could produce up to 450,000t, but we do have some challenges that we are working on. Beyond that, we want to stabilise and be able to reach our maximum capacity, but that will not come before 2016," said Tantawi. "The challenges that we are facing are the cement mills that cannot reach this capacity, but we are looking at installing new mills by 2016. Once we do the upgrade, we will be able to operate at maximum capacity of 450,000t."
Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe is in a closed period and is due to release its financial results for 2014 by March 2015. Tantawi said that the year has not been a good one. Group revenue for the half year that ended in June 2014 declined by 12.5% to US$28.2m, while gross profit was US$9.4m, compared to US$14.1m in the same period of 2013.
"Traditionally, the second half of the year has always been better in terms of business growth and the trend is expected to continue in 2015. Going forward, the construction industry has positive growth prospects premised on the mounting housing backlog and the pressing need for overall infrastructural rehabilitation and development. The company is well positioned to take advantage of the expected growth in the construction sector," said Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe in a statement.
Cement sector may play cautiously at coal block auction 03 February 2015
India: The government is expecting aggressive bids for all of the 46 coal blocks whose reallocation will start on 14 February 2015, especially for blocks assigned to end-use power generation. However, for the blocks apportioned to the unregulated sector, including the cement, steel and captive power industries, the cement sector is likely to step carefully. Cement companies lost allocations to 12 coal blocks following a Supreme Court order that held all captive coal allocations as illegal.
Imported coal prices fell sharply in 2014, easing the economics of cement production. If prices of imported coal turn volatile however, cement companies face further problems. "We cannot depend solely on imported coal prices staying low and neither can the government assure good quality coal on the open market. We expect to see aggressive bidding for the blocks," said H M Bangur, managing director of Shree Cement.
As per the bid regulations by the ministry of coal, there will be a forward bidding model for the steel and cement sectors. Forward bidding implies aggressive bidding for the coal blocks since the price of these commodities is market-driven. The government has to reallocate 46 operational coal blocks through auction by 31 March 2015.
Holcim and Lafarge announce assets sale to CRH 02 February 2015
World: Lafarge and Holcim have entered exclusive negotiations to sell a number of assets to Ireland's CRH for Euro6.5bn as part of their planned merger. The assets include operations in Europe, Canada, Brazil and the Philippines. The combined assets, which include Lafarge Tarmac in the UK, generated Euro5.2bn of sales in 2014, with estimated 2014 operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Euro744m.
"The projected transaction is a key step towards the creation of LafargeHolcim and the value offered reflects the strong quality of the selected assets. With this announcement, we remain firmly on track to complete our proposed merger in the first half of 2015," said Wolfgang Reitzle, designated chairman of the Board of Directors of LafargeHolcim and Bruno Lafont, designated CEO of the future combined company.
The divestment process will be carried out in the framework of the relevant social processes and the ongoing dialogue with the employee representatives' bodies. It will be submitted to the relevant competition authorities and to the shareholders of CRH. The divestments are subject to the completion of the merger, including a successful public exchange offering and approval by Holcim's shareholders in the second quarter of 2015. The closing of the planned merger is expected in the first half of 2015.
ACCC says that Boral is not passing on its carbon tax savings 02 February 2015
Australia: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has said that it is 'chasing up' Boral's failure to pass on savings from the carbon tax repeal.
Legislation to remove the tax was passed in July 2014. ACCC chair Rod Sims said that compliance from the affected businesses had since been very good. However, he singled out landfill companies and Boral for not passing on savings.
The ACCC said that Boral had informed customers in 2012 that the price of cement and terracotta products would increase by 1% and 3% respectively. Boral's CEO Mike Kane said, at the company AGM in October 2013, that the carbon tax would cost it about US$15m/yr.
"We've got a couple of companies that we're chasing up, but they're more ambiguous and so we haven't named them," said Sims. "But Boral, yes, we do have a problem. We're engaging with them." A spokesman for Boral said that it was continuing to comply with its obligations related to the tax removal.
Kading to acquire majority of System Cement 02 February 2015
Ukraine: Mining company Kading Companies has signed an agreement to acquire 70% of Ukrainian cement producer, System Cement Group (SCG). System Cement owns 100% of SCG, which is located in Vinnitsa, Ukraine. Kading said that its next objective would be to produce consolidated audited financial statements. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Kading Companies is focused on mining operations that are producing or can be producing within six months of acquisition. Kading is focused on a global basis, with its initial emphasis in South America, West Africa and now Ukraine.
Charlevoix cement plant expansion cleared 02 February 2015
US: The Charlevoix County Board of Commissioners has approved the proposal by St Marys Cement to expand its cement plant in Michigan State. St Marys Cement, part of Votorantim Group, is planning a US$130m upgrade to the Charlevoix plant, which would increase its production capacity from 1.3Mt/yr to nearly 2Mt/yr.
According to local press reports, in a 5:1 vote that followed the hearing, the county board approved the upgrade plan. Commissioner George Lasater provided the lone vote in opposition. He said that he simply wanted to do more research on the proposal. Other commissioners described their votes in support as important to sustaining the economy in Charlevoix County.
The proposal now moves to the state Department of Environmental Quality for final approval. If the Charlevoix plans were rejected, St Marys officials have said they will seek to reopen the Illinois plant.
Cementos Argos persists with waste tyres scheme 02 February 2015
Colombia: Cementos Argos innovation vice-president Camilo Restrepo has persisted with a project to use waste tyres as an alternative fuel in Colombia. Some 120,000 - 130,000/yr tyres are wasted in Colombia.
Cementos Argos is already using waste tyres as fuel in the US and Honduras and says that the same will be done in Colombia. It put forward its plans to local associations and has been discussing these for five years. Cementos Argos could use 60,000 - 70,000t/yr. Its kilns will have to be adapted at cost of US$5 – 20m each. It will start with its unit in Rioclaro, where tests are underway already. The plant can use 15,000 - 20,000t/yr of waste tyres.
Swiss prosecutor opens Holcim insider trading probe 02 February 2015
Switzerland: The Swiss Attorney General's office has opened an investigation into possible insider trading in the securities of cement producer Holcim Ltd, the office has said in a statement.
The investigation was first reported by the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, which said that suspected insider trading took place just before Holcim's announcement in April 2014 of a plan to merge with France's Lafarge. The investigation is probing a possible offence by a 'secondary insider,' not someone with authorised access to insider information, but who obtained such information in an unauthorised way, the Attorney General's office said. The statement gave no further details.
Saudi cement firms see net profit rise by 6% in 2014 30 January 2015
Saudi Arabia: The combined net profit of the Saudi cement firms rose by 6% in 2014 to reach US$1.56bn compared with US$1.48bn recorded in 2013. The profit during the October - December quarter grew by 31% to US$383m compared with US$293m during the same period in the previous year.
The net profits of seven firms, out of 14 listed companies, grew. The profits of six companies dropped in 2014 and one company, Um Al-Qura, registered a net loss.
Arabian Cement Company (ACC) registered the biggest profit, with its profits reaching US$172m compared to US$51.0m in 2013, an increase of 236%. The company attributed the surge in profits to a growth in sales, which reached US$457m in 2014, compared with US$361.6m in 2013.
ACC was followed by Hail Cement Company (HCC), which was the second biggest booster for the sector. Its profits reached US$39.1m in 2014 compared to US$13.3m in 2013, increasing by 191%.
The profits of six companies dropped in 2014 and this negatively affected the sector's profit growth for the year. The profits of Yamama Cement Company (YCC) fell by 23%, followed by Saudi Cement Company (SCC), the profit of which fell by 8% year-on-year.
Cement industry sales up in 2014 29 January 2015
Philippines: Cement industry sales in 2014 increased by 9.6% year-on-year, according to the Cement Manufacturers' Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) president Ernesto M Ordoñez.
Ordoñez said that local market sales reached 21.3Mt in 2014, compared to 19.4Mt in 2013. Sales for the fourth quarter of 2014 jumped by 15.7% to 5.2Mt, up from 4.5Mt in 2013. The increase in sales of cement producers was supported by the continuous growth of construction projects. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that construction activities in January - September 2014 amounted to US$6.17bn, 39% higher than the US$4.45bn in the same period of 2013. Non-residential projects had the largest amount of construction projects at US$3.25bn, while residential projects were pegged at US$2.45bn in the first nine months of 2014.