September 2024
UltraTech in talks to buy Jaypee’s cement assets in Himachal 21 February 2014
India: UltraTech Cement Ltd is in talks to buy Jaypee's cement assets in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, for US$644m, according to anonymous sources. This comes shortly after UltraTech's purchase of Jaypee's Gujarat cement plant.
For Jaypee, subsidiary of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, the deal will be another effort towards trimming its US$8.54bn debt (as of 31 March 2013). The company sold 1.21km2 of land in Greater Noida to realty firm Gaursons India Ltd for US$241m in May 2013. Jaypee is also close to finalising the sale of two of its three operating hydroelectric projects to a consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Co PJSC for at least US$1.5bn.
UltraTech's cement manufacturing capacity increased to 59Mt/yr from 54Mt/yr after it bought Jaypee's Gujarat plant. The company aims to increase its capacity to 70Mt/yr by 2015, according to Kailash Birla, senior executive president and chief financial officer of UltraTech. The Solan assets, if acquired, will add another 4Mt/yr of capacity. The grinding and blending unit and the cement plant in consideration have capacities of 2Mt/yr each.
Court clears Uhuru choice to chair EAPCC board 21 February 2014
Kenya: President Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to sack East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) chairman Mark ole Karbolo was upheld by the High Court on 21 February 2014.
Justice Mumbi Ngugi ruled that an earlier order stopping the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the government from interfering with shareholder resolutions made during a controversial annual general meeting (AGM) on 17 December 2013 did not shield Karbolo.
"I dismiss Karbolo's application," she ruled and directed Karbolo to bear the legal cost incurred by the government while defending the sacking since he was not acting in the interest of EAPCC. The ruling paves the way for Bill Lay to become chairman of the cement company.
The earlier orders were given after CMA suspended the AGM resolutions which were contested by the government, which is EAPCC's majority shareholder, on the grounds that voting was done by a show of hands instead of by the strength of shareholding.
On 7 February 2014 president Kenyatta removed Karbolo from chairing the firm's board and replaced him with Lay. Karbolo went to court on 10 February 2014 and obtained orders stopping Lay from occupying the office, arguing that Kenyatta's action was a breach of court orders. On 20 February 2014 Justice Ngugi said that Karbolo was seeking to exploit the controversy surrounding the shareholders' resolutions to remain in office until end of his term in October 2014.
"Karbolo was trying to protect his own personal interest. Even if the court allows all orders sought by the petitioner, the orders have no impact on Lay and Karbolo," said Justice Ngugi.
In March 2014 Justice Ngugi is expected to deliver a separate ruling regarding the suspension of shareholders' resolutions by CMA.
Holcim may delay cement plant construction 21 February 2014
Philippines: Holcim Philippines has announced that it may delay the construction of a proposed US$550m 2.5Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Bulacan province that was due for commissioning in 2016.
The announcement was made due to the impending economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2015. Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, will eliminate tariff rates on goods to facilitate free flow of commodities under the Asean Free Trade Area.
"We have to plan as a region because the region is consolidating," said Eduardo Sahagun, Holcim Philippines chief executive, adding that Vietnam and Indonesia both possess excess capacity. Holcim Philippines made several investments in 2013 to boost supply, including plant upgrades in La Union and Misamis Oriental provinces and the revival of a grinding facility in Mabini, Batangas, which will be operational by the third quarter of 2014.
Sahagun said that the company's outlook on cement demand in the country remained positive. "The growth scenario is the same but where the supply will come from will change," Sahagun said.
CeraTech establishes new standard for sustainable cement 20 February 2014
US: CeraTech has announced the release of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for ekkomaxx™ cement concrete. This is the first EPD completed for a non-Portland bulk cement.
The EPD confirms that CeraTech has produced a cement system with a virtually zero-carbon footprint, a 95% reduction in the use of virgin resources and a 50% reduction in the use of water.
The cement system comprises 95% recycled fly ash and 5% liquid additives. Meeting ASTM International C1157 as a hydraulic cement system, it is accepted by industry standards, codes and rating systems, including the American Concrete Institute (ACI), International Code Council (ICC) and the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
"The growing interest in sustainable construction has fuelled industry-wide interest in CeraTech. Our recently completed EPD and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for ekkomaxx independently validates our having established a new industry standard as the greenest, most sustainable concrete available in the world," said Jon Hyman, CeraTech's president and CEO.
Release of the third-party validated EPD followed the guidelines set forth by the Carbon Leadership Forum's North America Product Category Rules (PCR). Independent verification was conducted by the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute under the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association's (NRMCA) Programme Operator Rules.
According to Narayanan Neithalath, senior sustainability scientist and associate professor of the School of Sustainable Engineering and Built Environment at Arizona State University, "This EPD and LCA quantify the environmental benefits of well-designed cement systems that do not use Portland cement as a binder. CeraTech's next-generation, environmentally-responsible cement is eminently suitable for several high-end, special-performance applications and should be well-received by companies and organisations that are committed to sustainable, green construction."
Holtec wins tender for first cement plant in a Palestinian Territory 20 February 2014
West Bank: India's Holtec has won a tender to carry out a feasibility study for The Palestinian Commercial Services Company (PCSC) regarding the establishment of the first cement plant in a Palestinian Territory.
The new facility, which will be located in the West Bank, is expected to take four years to complete. The US$300m plant will have a capacity of 5000t/day, which would be doubled after three years. The cement produced will help to meet demand in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At present, PCSC imports over 80% of local cement from Israel's Nesher Cement, with the remainder imported from Egypt or Jordan.
Holtec will prepare the feasibility over the next six months. This will cover factors such as location, geological tests, raw materials, production process technology and technical and logistical requirements.
Bamburi signs partnership for solid waste treatment 20 February 2014
Kenya: Bamburi Cement and the Mombasa County Government have entered into a US$55.6m partnership to develop a solid waste management system for the Mombasa county.
The deal will see Bamburi finance a feasibility study and provide equipment to boost the Mombasa waste management capacity. Most of the waste will be used to generate alternative fuel for the manufacture of cement.
HP cabinet cancels allotment of cement plant to Jaypee 20 February 2014
India: The Himachal Pradesh cabinet has cancelled the allotment of a cement plant to Jaypee in Chamba district as the company failed to meet the extended deadline to start production.
Official sources said that the government was not satisfied with Jaypee's reply to a show cause notice. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the cancelled project was signed in February 2007.
The US$128m project with a proposed production capacity of 2Mt/yr was due to begin operations within five years after receiving clearance from the Environment Ministry. The plant was expected to provide direct employment to over 1000 people.
Can the Egyptian cement industry secure its fuel supplies? 19 February 2014
Suez Cement and Italcementi's first waste treatment plant in Egypt was inaugurated this week. The project uses 45,000t of household waste to produce 35,000t of alternative fuel annually. Given Egypt's on-going fuel concerns the project will be watched closely.
Italcementi has much riding on the success of the project. It has five integrated cement plants in the country. As reported in early February 2014, the cement producer suffered reduced production capacity in Egypt despite 'potential' domestic demand due to limited energy availability. Cement sales volumes in Egypt for Italcementi have continually fallen since 2011, accelerating from a 5.4% year-on-year reduction in 2011 to a 17.6% year-on-year reduction in 2013. Yet, despite this, rebounding domestic demand was reported in 2012 and 2013.
It must be extremely frustrating for Italcementi. It has the production capacity, it has demand but it doesn't have the fuel to power its lines. Any additional fuel will be welcome. At a rough and conservative rate of 200kg of fuel per tonne of cement produced, Italcementi and Suez Cement's new alternative fuel stream could help to produce 175,000t of cement or about 1.5% of the cement producer's clinker production capacity of 12Mt/yr.
Lafarge, with its mega 10.6Mt/yr cement plant outside of Cairo, hadn't suffered (publicly) as much as Italcementi from fuel shortages until the publication of its financial results for 2013. Although sales had decreased year-on-year since 2009, this has been blamed on competition. Now it has been announced that cement volumes decreased by 30% in the first half of 2013 due to shortages of gas. This was mitigated through fuel substitution to a 19% drop in the third quarter and a 7% drop in the fourth quarter.
However, Lafarge's strategy for fuel security may be threatened as the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs ordered the producer to stop preparations to build storage units for petcoke in February 2014 citing environmental and economic reasons. What happening here is unclear given that the Egyptian government has been encouraging cement producers to move away from using natural gas.
The examples above show the reactions two multinational cement producers, Italcementi and Lafarge, have made to secure their fuel supplies. The outcomes remain uncertain.
In other news, Shijiazhuang in Hebei province in China has started the demolition of 17 (!) more cement plants. This follows 18 plants that were demolished in December 2013. In total, 18.5Mt/yr of cement production capacity has been torn down.
This is more than the cement production output of most European countries or any single US state! Where was this cement going previously? What were the effects on the price of cement in China? Who is taking the loss for the destruction of this industrial production capacity? BBC News Business Editor Robert Peston has some ideas.
Albert Scheuer appointed chairman at HeidelbergCement Bangladesh 19 February 2014
Bangladesh: HeidelbergCement Bangladesh has appointed Albert Scheuer as its chairman. Scheuer is a member of the managing board of HeidelbergCement Group with responsibility for Asia-Oceania and worldwide co-ordination of the Heidelberg Technology Centre. Before this, he was chief operating officer of HeidelbergCement's operation in China and served as managing director of HeidelbergCement Technology Centre in European Cement Plants of the group from 1998 to 2005.
Improved fourth quarter revives flagging annual finances for Lafarge 19 February 2014
France: Lafarge's financial results for 2013 have been rescued by an improved fourth quarter year-on-year. It reported a 2% decrease in sales year-on-year to Euro3.71bn for the fourth quarter of 2013 fromEuro3.81bn in 2012. Overall sales for 2013 fell by 4% to Euro15.2bn from Euro15.8bn. The French-based multinational building producer reported increasing sales on a like-for-like basis for both the final quarter and the full year. It attributed the improvement to growing sales volumes, ongoing growth in most emerging markets, the recovery in the United States and stabilisation in Europe.
"In the fourth quarter we saw much more positive operational trends, accelerating compared to the third quarter, while exchange rates continued to be adverse," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge, Bruno Lafont.
Sales volumes of cement for the 2013 financial year fell by 3% year-on-year to 137Mt from 141Mt. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 9% to Euro3.10bn from Euro3.42bn.
By region, sales volumes of cement fell in North America by 12% in 2013 to 11.3Mt from 12.8Mt but the residential sector in the US recovered. In Western Europe they fell by 14% to 14Mt from 16.4Mt but the French construction market was described as 'resilient' and sales rose in the UK. In Central and Eastern Europe they fell by 6% to 12.5Mt from 13.2Mt, with particular problems in Poland and Romania. In Middle East and Africa they fell by 2% to 44.4Mt from 45.2Mt with problems noted in Egypt, Morocco and Kenya. In Latin America they fell by 4% to 8.8Mt from 9.2Mt affected by 'subdued' growth in Brazil. Although on like-for-like basis they rose by 1%. In Asia cement sales rose by 3% to 45.8Mt from 44.3Mt led by a strong market in the Philippines despite Typhoon Haiyan.
For its outlook Lafarge expects to sees cement growth in its markets of between 2 to 5% in 2014 versus 2013 with markets benefiting from recovery in the US, stabilisation in Europe and on-going growth in emerging markets.