September 2024
Steppe Cement reports pre-tax profit in H1 11 September 2012
Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has reported a pre-tax profit of US$391,000 for the first six months of 2012. For the same period in 2011 the Kazakhstan-based producer made a loss of US$2.84m.
Revenue rose by 21% to US$52.2m from US$43.1m. Sales of cement rose by 2.5% to 616,000t from 601,000t. Steppe Cement also reported that its production costs per tonne increased by 11% due to higher electricity, transportation and coal costs, although this was partly offset by productivity increases.
In its interim results Steppe Cement also reported that the Kazakhstan cement market as a whole increased by 16% during the first half of 2012. It expects national demand to rise by 9.7% in 2012 to 6.8Mt/yr from 6.2Mt/yr in 2011. Overall local production has increased by 20% in the first half of 2012 compared to 2011, with the share of imported cement decreasing from 17% to 14%. The Kazakhstan government has continued its road building plan as well as significant infrastructure projects in the main cities.
Seven Rings Cement to reach 4.4Mt by 2015 10 September 2012
Bangladesh: Hong-Kong based Shun Shing Group has announced that it intends to increase the capacity of its Bangladesh brand, Seven Rings Cement, to 4.4Mt/yr by 2015. Seven Circle Bangladesh (SCB), a subsidiary of Shun Shing Group, produces Seven Rings Cement.
SCB is also working on increasing its capacity at another plant in Khulna to 2.9Mt/yr by 2013. SCB was incorporated in Bangladesh in 2000, with an initial capacity of 0.5Mt/yr. Currently the company has a capacity of 1.6Mt/yr in the country.
Capacity utilisation in Pakistan falls to 68.3% 07 September 2012
Pakistan: Capacity utilisation in the Pakistan cement industry has fallen to 68.3% in the first two months of the 2013 financial year, according to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). The figure is the lowest since 2002.
Demand for cement declined during July 2012 and August 2012 due to Ramadan and heavy rains in the country. Total cement despatches declined by 1.64% in July and 2.82% in August.
Exports of cement have also started to decline in Pakistan since hitting a high of 11Mt in 2008-2009. In 2011-2012 exports were 8.57Mt. This decline has continued in 2012-2013 as exports fell year-on-year by 5.87% during July 2012 and August 2012 to 1.46Mt from 1.55Mt
Exports to India decreased by 38% in July 2012 and August 2012 to 75,800t. They have been declining since India and Pakistan opened their borders for liberal bilateral trade.
"The decline is not due to a lack of cement demand in India but because of very stringent non-tariff barriers erected by our neighbour," said the APCMA. It added that cement from Pakistan is preferred in India due to its better 'quality.'
Pakistan is unable to export larger quantities of cement to India due to trade barriers, labour shortages on the Indian side of the Wagah border crossing, and short supply of railway wagons. The APCMA has also blamed delays in cement plants registering for export licenses.
Exports to Afghanistan are also declining due to economic slowdown. Exports declined by almost 5% in July 2012 and August 2012.
Ash Wednesday: cement in the Philippines 05 September 2012
Coal ash seems to be in short supply in the Philippines. Lafarge Republic has signed a deal with a local energy producer to buy coal ash from a new 600MW coal plant.
Although the cost of the deal was not announced, the agreement will run from when the plant starts operation until 2019. This move follows a similar arrangement by Cemex Philippines in June 2012. In that instance Cemex agreed to purchase coal ash from the 200MW Kepco SPC Power Corp plant in Naga, Cebu for US$0.95/t.
Distinctively both arrangements were set up in conjunction with local government. For the Lafarge deal part of the agreement involved donating at least 10,000 bags of cement per month for use in various infrastructure projects of the province. Bataan governor Enrique Garcia put the value of the deal at US$1.19m/yr. For the Cemex deal the Cebu Provincial Government signed the agreement. In November 2009 Cebu Province and Kepco entered into an Ash Disposal Agreement, where Cebu Province was granted exclusive rights to the ash produced by the power plant.
Adding to the suspicion that the Philippines lacks sufficient coal ash, back in the autumn of 2011, the Cement Manufacturers' Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to impose mandatory quality standards on raw materials, such as coal ash. This followed accusations by CeMAP that poor quality coal ash might be behind complaints from contractors working on infrastructure projects. In 2009 a DTI profile on the cement industry placed the demand for Portland cement at 73% and the demand for pozzolan cement at 27% of the total.
Cement sales in the Philippines have been steadily growing over the last decade. Lafarge Republic announced in August 2012 that it was increasing its capacity to just below 9Mt/yr in 2013. Around the same time CeMAP released data showing that sales were up 20% year-on-year for the first half of 2012. The local industry reported combined sales of 15.6Mt in 2011. Previous to this, Holcim Philippines announced the US$9.46m upgrade to a previously closed mill in Batangas.
Holcim US announces new deputy chief executive officer 05 September 2012
US: Holcim US has announced that Filiberto Ruiz will serve as its deputy chief executive officer of Holcim and Aggregate Industries US as part of its 'Leadership Journey.' Prior to his promotion, Ruiz was senior vice president, sales & marketing for Holcim US.
Ruiz began his career with the Holcim Group in 1986 as electrical supervisor with Holcim Apasco, Mexico, later becoming plant manager. In 1999, Filiberto became regional vice president, manufacturing for Holcim US. He returned to Holcim Apasco as cement operations, vice president, and moved back to Holcim US in 2006 as senior vice president, manufacturing. He has been in his current role, senior vice president, sales & marketing, since 2010.
Reliance starts production at Nagpur 05 September 2012
India: Reliance Cement Company, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, has started production at its first plant in Butibori, Nagpur. It is Reliance Group's entry into the cement market. The plant will service the Vidarbha region in eastern Maharashtra.
"The commissioning of the Butibori unit is a landmark event in the cement industry, marking the entry of one of the largest business groups of India into the sector. Reliance's foray in the cement industry is a natural extension of its interests in power and infrastructure businesses. Reliance Cement aspires to be amongst the top five cement companies in India in the next five years," said the vice chairman of Reliance Cement, Sumit Banerjee.
The company is currently commissioning two other plants with a total capacity of 10Mt/yr in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, costing US$1.08bn.
Sinoma chairman Tan Zhongming dies 05 September 2012
China: China National Materials (Sinoma) chairman Tan Zhongming has died. Tan, who was in his late 50s, reportedly died of a heart attack while in France for a company roadshow on 2 September 2012. Vice-chairman Yu Shiliang will succeed him.
The state-owned company is one of China's five biggest cement producers. Tan was also a director of Sinoma's Shanghai-listed subsidiary, Sinoma International Engineering, the world's biggest producer of cement equipment, with businesses in more than 30 countries.
Tan was chairman of Sinoma when it listed in Hong Kong in December 2007. He was also general manager of Sinoma's state-owned parent, China National Materials Group. From 1995 to October 2000, Tan held various positions in the State Bureau of Building Materials Industry. He had more than 35 years of experience in China's non-metals materials industry.
Tan graduated with a doctorate in management from Xian Jiaotong University in 1999 and was a professional senior engineer.
East African producers issue warning about imports 05 September 2012
Kenya: The East Africa Cement Producers Association (EACPA) has warned that cement imports are not being subjected to the same technical standards and regulations as local cement. At a meeting in Nairobi, local cement producers stated that they want imports halted as the region has surplus production.
"Cement is a very sensitive commodity yet the quality issues on imports are not being addressed at such a time when the number of collapsing buildings is rising," said Kephar Tande, the managing director of the East African Portland Cement Company and chairman of EACPA.
Kenyan manufacturers are discussing the issue with the Kenya Bureau of Standards to tighten the requirements for standards and packaging. These requirements would include expiry date markings on cement bags, and information on storage and handling. The EACPA also alleged that foreign cement manufacturers are using local agents who are 'unqualified' and should now be regulated.
The East African region has a demand for cement of 5Mt/yr and it is currently producing 7Mt/yr. Plants are currently running at 78% of capacity. The EACPA added that the local industry's net profit margin is expected to dip to below 10% in 2012 compared to 15% in 2011.
UltraTech Cement to reach 62Mt by April 2013 05 September 2012
India: UltraTech, India's leading cement producer, is planning a 19% increase in capacity to 62Mt/yr by April 2013 from its current output of 52Mt/yr. Company chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, who made the announcement, added that the outlook for the sector remained challenging.
"I believe the short-term prospects for the industry appear bearish. Regardless, over the medium to long term, the sector offers good growth potential," said Birla in a statement released after the company's annual shareholder meeting. "Undoubtedly, we are facing some tough challenges today."
Rising input and energy costs have limited margins at cement companies, while demand remains a worry amid a weakening economy and high interest rates which have slowed housing and infrastructure development in Asia's third-largest economy. Producers have also come under pressure after the country's anti-trust watchdog fined 11 companies, including UltraTech, saying they colluded to under-use their plants and create an artificial shortage of cement.
UltraTech has been in talks to buy one of two cement plants put up for sale by debt-laden Jaiprakash Associates, in western and southern India. The company reported a 14% increase year-on-year in net profit for the quarter ending in June 2012 to US$129m.
Lafarge Republic signs coal ash deal with GNPower Mariveles 05 September 2012
Philippines: Lafarge Republic has signed a deal with the provincial government of Bataan and GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant to buy coal ash from the latter company's 600MW power plant.
Lafarge Republic, formerly Republic Cement, said the deal will start once the power plant begins producing coal ash. It will expire in November 2019. The company didn't provide financial details of the deal.
In a transaction announced in June 2012, Cemex Philippines said it will buy for around US$1 each ton of coal ash to be produced by the 200MW power plant of Korea Electric Power in the central province of Cebu.