September 2024
Thatta Cement signs lease for Sri Lankan grinder 10 April 2013
Sri Lanka: Pakistan's Thatta Cement is proceeding towards the construction of a US$15m grinding plant in Sri Lanka after signing a 25-year lease agreement with the island's port agency in the week ending 5 April 2013.
The plant, with a capacity of 0.3Mt/yr, will be located at the Hambantota port in the southern Sri Lankan region of Hambantota District. It is expected to grind 0.1Mt of cement in the first year, catering to the domestic market. It will gradually increase its output to 0.3Mt/yr. A second stage expansion is expected to take capacity up to 1Mt/yr.
"The team at Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) were all supportive," said Thatta's chief financial officer, Muhamad Taha Hamdani. "At the last meeting with SLPA chairman, he was very supportive. There was a certain issue (but this) was solved within 15 to 20 minutes."
Thatta Cement chief executive Fazlullah Shariff said the firm had been exporting more than 0.1Mt/yr of cement to Sri Lanka since 2011 and that the firm had acceptance among constructors in the country. He said the grinding plant would not be limited to clinker from Pakistan but would also accept clinker from other countries depending on the international movement of prices.
Suez says fuel shortages are harming production 10 April 2013
Egypt: Suez Cement, Egypt's biggest cement maker by market value, has said that a lack of fuel supplies had forced it to cut production by as much as 30% so far in 2013. Two years of political upheaval have brought chaos to Egypt's economy and a lack of state funds and foreign currency is now disrupting imports of vital energy supplies.
"A lack of fuel supplies has cut our annual production of 12Mt/yr by 20-30% since the start of the year," said Mohamed Shanan, director of business development at Suez Cement, a subsidiary of Italy's Italcementi. "Any increase in (fuel) prices must be matched by an increase in cement prices," he told local press. He highlighted that fuel costs had doubled in the past three year while cement prices have grown by just 30%.
Long queues at petrol stations, protests at cooking gas shortages and ever more frequent power cuts point to a gathering fuel crisis in the North African country. Energy accounts for around half the cost of producing cement in Egypt.
Turkish financial reports 10 April 2013
Turkey: Adana Çimento reported a total revenue 0.1% lower in the final quarter of 2012 than in the same period of 2011, taking US$41.4m. Its net profit, however, grew by over half year-on-year, rising by 50.2% to US$19.3m for the quarter.
Batisoke Soke Çimento saw its 2012 sales revenue fall by 4.5% to U$45.0m from US$45.2m in 2011.
Bursa Çimento's saw its net profit and revenue both fall in 2012. Its net profit dropped by 73.6% to US$6.7m on revenues that were 9.2% lower than in 2011 at US$274.2m.
Çimsa Çimento saw its revenue increase by 7.9% year-on-year in 2012 compared to 2011, taking US$487m over the year. However, the company saw its net profit fall by 6.5% year-on-year to US$64.5m in 2012.
Çimentas Izmir has reported a net profit of US$16.3m for 2012, 38.2% more than it earnt in 2011. The company has made a profit in four of the past five years. The company's sales revenue came in at US$333.7m for 2012, a 6.9% improvement on 2011 when it took US$297m in sales.
Mardin Çimento made a net profit of US$20.5m in 2012 after it saw its net profit slump by 56.4% compared to 2011. The company's total revenue was down by 19.7% to US$116m.
Unye Çimento's total revenue was down by 19.7% to US$116m in the fourth quarter of 2012, while its net profit for the quarter was 46.8% higher year-on-year at US$10.5m.
Steppe sells less and takes hit on market share 10 April 2013
Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement, a construction materials producer in Kazakhstan, has announced that it sold 166,121t of cement in the first quarter of 2013 compared to 170,000t in 2012. However, its revenue from cement sales was US$15.1m, 17% higher than the US$12.9m that it took in the first quarter of 2012.
While it sold more cement in the first quarter of 2013 than in the same period of 2012, Steppe Cement was unable to keep pace with expansion in the wider Kazakh market. It saw its domestic market share fall to 15% in the first quarter of 2013 versus 18% in the first quarter of 2012.
Germany: HeidelbergCement said that its profits would be hit by about Euro30m in the second quarter of 2013 due to a fine for infringement of cartel rules. HeidelbergCement said that the fine, a total of Euro161.4m for cartel infringements during the years 1990 to 2002, would not affect its earnings outlook.
Filipino government to investigate cement price rises 09 April 2013
Philippines: The National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) in the Philippines announced on 8 April 2013 that it was concerned about rising prices for cement.
"We will be sending letters to cement producers to ask them why their prices have gone up," said Trade Undersecretary Zenaida C Maglaya in a briefing after a meeting of the NPCC. "We have to ask them the reason because it may be that they consumed more coal, which went up (in price), but there might be another reason." She added that the firms have to send in their reports within the week.
The Trade department also reported that it was investigating Eagle Cement for increasing its prices after it had agreed earlier with the government to sell lower-priced cement. The firm was granted tax perks by the government for its Bulacan cement plant in November 2006.
Camargo Corrêa to invest US$1.5bn in Brazilian market 08 April 2013
Brazil: The Brazilian construction group Camargo Corrêa has announced plans to invest up to US$1.5bn in the Brazilian cement industry over a four year period. With the acquisition and control of Portuguese cement maker Cimpor in 2012, Camargo Corrêa, through its cement arm InterCement, became the second largest producer of cement in Brazil.
Of the nine countries the company began operating in through its Cimpor deal, the Brazilian market has the greatest growth potential. The market is expected to increase by 5-6%/yr, according to a report by local paper Valor Econômico. To prepare itself, the company intends to invest US$1.25-1.5bn by 2016.
Planned projects include the construction of four cement plants and an expansion at the company's existing plant in Cezarina, located in the mid-western state of Goiás.
Cuban plant to go green 05 April 2013
Cuba: A Cuban cement plant has launched industrial trials to produce environmentally-friendly cement, according to the National News Agency.
Gustavo Suarez, director of the Siguaney cement plant in central Cuba reported that the kilns began to burn local kaolin minerals to partially replace the CO2-intensive clinker used to make cement on 4 April 2013. Suarez said the production phase was preceded by a year and a half of testing by researchers at Las Villas University and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, a partner in the project.
The factory is preparing the first 300t of burnt metakaolin needed to make two experimental types of 'green cement,' in which clinker will be replaced by 15% and 45% kaolin respectively. It is estimated that Siguaney will consume only 68% of the energy used in making normal cement, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 32%. "(Our) current grey cement production requires a temperature of 1200°C, while the new local formula needs only 750°C," said Suarez.
Vietnam to cancel nine cement plants from master plan 05 April 2013
Vietnam: The Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a proposal of the Vietnam Building Material Association to cancel nine cement plant projects in order to keep in line with market demand.
The nine projects, Ha Tien-Kien Giang, Truong Son- Ro Li, Hop Son, Ngoc Ha, Vinafuji Lao Cai, Thanh Truong, Son Duong, Quang Minh and Cao Bang, will be removed from the country's master plan for cement industry. The prime minister also agreed to extend the deadline for the construction of seven other projects - He Duong II, My Duc, Thanh Son, Tan Thang, Do Luong, Tan Phu Xuan and Nam Dong - to after 2015.
The prime minister, however, added Xuan Thanh 2 cement plant in the northern province of Ha Nam to the list of projects slated for operation before 2015. The government leader asked the Ministry of Construction to cooperate with other ministries and agencies to ensure a balance between the cement supply and demand. He also asked the Ministries of Construction, Finance, Industry and trade, Vietnam Cement Association and Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) to facilitate cement exports, which Vietnam is already heavily involved in.
Local cement makers currently face difficulties due to huge inventory and low domestic demand caused by the frozen real estate market. In addition, high production costs, high lending interest rates and rising input costs have also put a heavy burden on local cement producers. The country is predicted to have a cement inventory of 14-15Mt by 2015, when the country's cement output will reach 90Mt/yr.
Ube plans first new mine in 35 years 04 April 2013
Japan: Ube Industries Ltd has announced that it will develop a large limestone mine in Yamaguchi Prefecture in anticipation of a further recovery in domestic demand for cement in Japan. The company will likely invest US$84m in what would be its first mine development in 35 years. Production is slated to kick off around 2017. Ube plans to operate the mine, which has estimated reserves of some 300Mt, for about 40 years.
Of the company's three domestic cement plants, two mainstay facilities in Yamaguchi have been procuring limestone from a mine near the new site. This existing mine, which produces 8Mt/yr of limestone, has been dug as deep as 140m and has been in production since 1948. High costs from deep mining prompted the company to look for a new site.
After sinking at one point to as low as 40Mt/yr, half of 1990 levels, Japanese cement demand has recently rebounded due to the reconstruction of areas devastated by the March 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami disaster. This trend will likely continue for a while, as efforts to repair and update ageing infrastructure are expected to pick up while reconstruction projects go on.
The Japan Cement Association estimates domestic demand in the current year (to March 2014) will grow by 3.4% year-on-year to 46Mt. Taiheiyo Cement Corporation and other cement makers are also gearing up to boost domestic supplies by curbing exports and taking other measures.