September 2024
Eurocement’s Voronezh plant on track for July 2012 25 April 2012
Russia: Alexei Gordeev, governor of the Voronezh Region, has met with Mikhail Skorokhod, president of Eurocement, to discuss the ongoing construction of a new plant.
Skorokhod noted during the meeting that construction of the plant was in its final stage, with an expected completion date of construction in May 2012. The plant will have a clinker capacity of 6000t/day (2Mt/yr) and occupy an area of 33.4 hectares. By July 2012 the company expects production of the first tonne of cement. By August 2012 landscaping will be completed. In 2012 the new plant is expected to produce 0.5Mt, with full capacity met by 2014.
Gordeev and Skorokhod also discussed development of local transport infrastructure, including the reconstruction of the railway station. Eurocement offered to fund design works for the construction of an overpass and an adjacent road whilst the governor raised the possibility of including the cost of improving transport infrastructure in the region in the regional budget.
Nigerian producers seek import ban before August 2012 25 April 2012
Nigeria: Cement producers in Nigeria have called on the Federal Government to ban bulk cement imports before the August 2012 deadline set by the government, claiming that the volume of cement currently produced in the country is enough to meet local demand.
"The government should enforce the ban before the August deadline," said Daljeet Ghai, Group Chief Executive at Dangote Cement. "Dangote alone has the capacity needed to meet local demand and sustain supply of the commodity across the nation."
The current production data from the various plants in the country, obtained from Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) show that the country's total cement production capacity is now at 22.5Mt/yr while the country's cement consumption is 18.5Mt/yr.
Dangote alone currently accounts for 15Mt/yr while Lafarge Wapco Cement contributes 7.5Mt/yr. Unicem produces 2.5Mt/yr and Ava Cement produces 0.5Mt/yr.
Citing the example of the company's Ibese cement plant as basis for confidence in the ability of local manufacturers to meet domestic demand and still be able to export, Dangote's Ghai said, "The Ibese plant is grinding 0.48Mt/month, while daily production is 16,000t/day at 2400t/hr (6Mt/yr). It started with production of 12,000t/day in February 2012, but barely two months later, production moved up to 16,000t/day, it's full installed capacity."
Vijay Khana, Deputy Director of operations at Ibese Cement added that on a daily basis, the company supplies the market with more than 200,000 bags of cement.
Nigeria's second largest cement producer, Lafarge Cement Wapco, said that it is ready for the import ban. "For sure, I see a ban on cement imports happening," said Lanre Opakunle, Plant Manager at Ewekoro Cement Plant II. "The best thing for Nigeria is for us to manufacture cement here. If we manufacture it here, we create jobs here and we save the economy in terms of foreign exchange."
The CEO and President of Dangote Cement, Aliko Dangote, has said that the company will hold a 'cement import closing ceremony' whenever the ban is introduced.
Court over-rules Kibaki and reinstates EAPCC boss 25 April 2012
Kenya: Mark ole Karbolo has been reinstated as the Chairman of East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), two months after President Mwai Kibaki appointed Isaac ole Mapenay to replace him.
High Court Judge Mohammed Warsame ruled that the government did not follow procedure in ejecting Karbolo from EAPCC. Karbolo moved to court immediately when he was fired to challenge his sacking by the president in an announcement published on 10 February 2012.
Karbolo argued before Justice Warsame that there had been concerted effort by the government to remove him from the board without following the law. Karbolo had been dogged by allegations of mismanagement and malpractice that saw him and the entire board suspended by acting Industrialisation Minister Amason Kingi.
The directors had challenged their suspension and were reinstated by the courts. The High Court decision now sets the stage for yet another round of court room battles pitting the Judiciary against the Executive.
UAE cement bag plant starts production 25 April 2012
UAE: The Kuwait-based paper manufacturer Shuaiba Industrial Company has announced the completion of its 100%-owned cement bag plant in Jebel Ali in the UAE. The facility, which has a total cost of US$13.1m will have an annual production capacity of 80 million cement bags. The company used its own funds to finance the plant.
Votorantim decision on Cimpor imminent 25 April 2012
Portugal: Votorantim, Brazil's largest cement producer, is set to decide whether it will accept Camargo Correa's takeover bid for Cimpor and sells the 21.2% it owns in the company. Camargo, Brazil's second-largest construction group, launched a Euro5.5 a share takeover bid for the 67.1% of Cimpor it does not own at the end of March 2012.
"There is no deal with Camargo. Votorantim is considering and analysing all the alternatives," said CEO Walter Schalka outside of Cimpor's shareholder meeting in Lisbon on 20 April 2012. "We will decide in the next few days," he added.
The meeting was suspended on the request of Camargo, which said that the assembly should only occur after its takeover bid process is concluded. There is still no set deadline for the bid. Cimpor's board previously said that Camargo's bid was too low and was lacking detail on its plans for the company's future.
Earlier in April 2012, Portuguese conglomerate Semapa proposed that some Cimpor shareholders should form a joint holding company to try to keep the company in Portuguese hands. It said, however, that its offer does not represent a counterbid. Votorantim is Cimpor's second-largest shareholder.
Six Bangladeshi plants to shut 25 April 2012
Bangladesh: Six cement plants in Nowapara, in the western Jessore district of Bangladesh, have closed due to a combined crisis in operating capital, a lack of raw materials and a lack of government patronisation. The plants were part of a group of twelve established in 1997 in the Khulna Division of the country and it is now feared that the remaining six plants will be shut also. The group had a combined capacity of about 3.5t/day.
Questions had previously arisen regarding the quality of cement from the plants. According to local sources the owners of these plants were evading VAT by purchasing contraband clinker. In addition some manufacturers were using excessive amounts of fly ash, forcing them to sell their cement below the cost of production.
Subsequent to the closures local market share is being captured by King Brand, Akij, Scan and Elephant Brand cement.
Ultratech interested in limestone mine in Mozambique 25 April 2012
Mozambique: Indian firm Ultratech Cement is negotiating the purchase of a limestone mine in southern Mozambique for about US$286m. According to media reports, negotiations between the Mumbai conglomerate and the mine's owner began in February 2012 and the deal may result in the construction of a cement factory in Mozambique, a country where the demand for construction materials has been growing at an annual rate of 8 - 9%/yr.
The mine is located in the Magude region of southern Mozambique near the capital Maputo and has estimated reserves of 700 – 800Mt of high quality limestone.
In April 2010, UltraTech Cement acquired the ETA Star Cement company, a Dubai producer with capacity of 2.3Mt/yr US$324m, opening access to markets in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Bangladesh.
Ultratech profit rises 19% on higher sales and prices 24 April 2012
India: Ultratech Cement Ltd, part of the Aditya Birla group, has said that its net profit for quarter ending 31 March 2012 rose by 19% compared to the same quarter of 2011. It attributed the increase to higher sales volume and an increase in product prices.
The profit at India's largest cement company by sales climbed to US$165m for the January-March 2012 period, from US$138m in the same period in 2011.
Sales also increased by 19%, to US$1.01bn from US$582m.
Indian cement companies were helped in the last quarter by revived construction activity which boosted both sales volume and product prices. However, improvement in the profit margin was limited by a rise in costs of coal and diesel. Ultratech sold 11.54Mt of cement during the quarter compared with 10.70Mt in the same period in 2011.
Ultratech didn't say how much prices rose in the January-March 2012 quarter but brokerage firm Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd said that prices grew by 10% compared to the same period in 2011. Ultratech said its variable costs also rose by 10% as a result of higher energy prices. It also added that the surplus capacity in the Indian cement industry is likely to continue until 2015. Together with the rising cost of raw materials this is expected to put pressure to profit margins.
Cemex to build two waste recycling plants in UK 23 April 2012
UK: Cemex is planning to start building two new waste recycling plants in the UK later in 2012. As part of the project up to 30 new jobs operating a site in Rugby, Warwickshire will be created.
Cemex is working with recycling management company Sita UK to produce the alternative fuel, Climafuel, which is made out of domestic, commercial and industrial waste. It plans to build two new waste recycling plants, one in Birmingham and the other in Malpass Farm, next to its existing Rugby cement plant. Work is due to start later in 2012 with an opening date set for 2014. The Birmingham plant is due to start operation later in 2012 and it will also provide fuel for the Rugby Cemex plant.
Together, the two plants will be able to produce and supply up to 250,000t of Climafuel to Rugby which is currently permitted to use up to 65% Climafuel in its fuel mix. A current application to the Environment Agency could see this increase to 80%.
Dan Panormo, Cemex's renewable energy manager, said "With the fuel coming from within a 30 mile radius of the cement plant from Birmingham and subsequently from Malpass Farm, it guarantees the environmental credentials of this alternative fuel."
ACC income rises 19% in Q1 20 April 2012
India: ACC has posted a total income of US$579m for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 19% compared to the US$488m that it made in the same quarter in 2011.
Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by 10%, growing from US$112m in 2011 to US$124m in 2012. Net profit after tax for the quarter fell from US$67.2m in 2011 to US$29.1m in 2012, a decrease of over 55%!
In its consolidated financial results ACC explained that the marked decrease in profit was due to its decision to change its method of providing depreciation on captive power plants from 'Straight Line' to 'Written Down Value' methods at the rates prescribed in Schedule XIV to the Companies Act, 1956. Accordingly, ACC has recognised an additional depreciation charge of US$65.5m. Using the previous method of depreciation profit after tax would have been US$73.6m, a slight increase on the 2011 figure. This change would have had no impact on EBITDA and cash profit for the quarter ended March 2012.
While the company's results benefited from better volumes during the quarter, manufacturing costs and realisations were affected by steep escalations in the cost of inputs such as coal, fly ash and gypsum. The cost of transportation also rose significantly as a result of the hike in rail freight and increase in diesel prices.