September 2024
Nigeria: Dangote Cement says it has resumed exporting clinker from its Onne and Apapa terminals to Cameroon. Two ships delivered 57,000t of clinker and 0.34Mt of clinker was exported by road in the first half of 2021. The cement producer started exports in 2021 but was forced to suspend them in April 2021 following high demand for cement domestically.
The group’s revenue grew by 44.8% to US$1.68bn in the first half of 2021 from US$1.16bn in the same period in 2020. Cement sales volumes rose by 26.1% to 15.3Mt from 12.1Mt. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 61% to US$853m from US$530m. In Nigeria cement demand was attributed to increasing housing infrastructure, commercial construction and government projects including roads and railways. Outside of Nigeria, strong performance was noted in the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Senegal and Tanzania.
“This strong intrinsic performance is magnified by the lower second quarter results in 2020 due to the effect of Covid-19. The growth trend continues and we are focused on meeting the strong market demand across all our countries of operation,” said chief executive officer Michel Puchercos. He added that the group restarted clinker exports from Nigeria in the second quarter of 2021 following a ‘strategic decision’ to pause them in response to high demand domestically. The cement producer intends to commission its new 3Mt/yr Okpella plant in the third quarter of 2021. He also said that the company’s ongoing alternative fuels project is at an ‘advanced stage’ with procurement and installation of equipment occurring at all plants.
Thai cement demand hit by coronavirus lockdowns 02 August 2021
Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) says that government-mandated coronavirus restrictions have reduced local cement demand by 20%. Roongrote Rangsiyopash, the president and chief executive of SCG, said that the construction sector expected a slowdown due to the closure of construction worker camps, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper.
The group’s building materials business sales rose by 4% year-on-year to US$2.81bn in the first half of 2021. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 3% to US$399m. Overall, the group’s sales and earnings increased significantly across all business lines.
Ambuja Cement to upgrade Ropar grinding plant 02 August 2021
India: Ambuja Cement plans to spend around US$42m on upgrading its Ropar grinding plant in Punjab. The unit will have its capacity increased by 1.5Mt to 4.5Mt/yr by June 2023. It will install a new vertical roller mill and will produce cement using fly ash. The expansion is part of the company’s aim to reach a cement production capacity of 50Mt/yr.
Cementos Molins to buy Calucem for Euro150m 02 August 2021
Germany/Spain: Cementos Molins has agreed to buy 100% of the shares of Calucem for Euro150m from Ambienta SGR. The cement producer says that the acquisition will help it become the world’s second largest producer of calcium aluminate cements (CAC). The transaction is scheduled to complete in the last quarter of 2021 and it is subject to approval by competition authorities.
“This is a significant strategic step forward, expanding our activity in the specialty construction chemical sector. With Calucem, we will be able to build a platform focusing on innovation, sustainability and global growth,” said Julio Rodríguez, the chief executive officer of Cementos Molins.
Calucem has its headquarters in Mannheim, Germany. It operates a production plant in Pula, Croatia with a deep-sea port allowing it to export worldwide. It also runs an innovation centre in Germany as well as a network of sales offices and distribution centres in Europe, the US and Asia. Calucem has around 180 employees.
Spain: Cementos Molins’ sales grew by 33% year-on-year to Euro452m in the first half of 2021 from Euro341m in the same period in 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 50% to Euro124m from Euro83m. Sales volumes of cement and ready-mixed concrete increased by 43% to 3.57Mt and 27% to 0.67Mm3 respectively. It attributed the growth in sales and earnings to higher sales volumes, price management and operational efficiency gains. However, it warned against mounting energy and logistics costs.
Pakistan’s cement sector leads coal-related carbon emissions 02 August 2021
Pakistan: Research by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) think tank shows that the cement sector was the largest national emitter of CO2 from coal in the financial year for 2018 – 2019. Coal was responsible for 19% of emissions in the reporting period. Cement comprised 49% of this followed by power generation at 28% and brick manufacture at 22%. The report looked at CO2 emissions from the Pakistan energy sector. It concluded that the cement industry was often missed out in discussions about carbon emissions in the country despite its high coal consumption and the number of new plants currently being planned.
Schenck Process to acquire SHAPE 02 August 2021
Thailand: Germany-based Schenck Process Group has reached an agreement to acquire Solids Handling and Process Engineering (SHAPE), a supplier of powder handling and powder processing products based in Bangkok. The purchase is intended to strengthen Schenck Process Group’s presence in equipment and food processing markets in Asia Pacific.
Switzerland: Holcim’s sales rose by 17.4% year-on-year to Euro11.7bn in the first half of 2021 from Euro9.92bn in the same period in 2020. Its recurring earnings interest before taxation (EBIT) increased by 66% to Euro1.84bn from Euro1.12bn. Cement and concrete sales volumes grew by 13.5% to 99Mt and 15.6% to 22.1Mm3 respectively. Sales of all business segments grew in all regions on a like-for-like basis with the exception of aggregate sales in North America, where they fell slightly.
Jan Jenisch, the chief executive officer of Holcim, said, “In the first half of 2021 we set new records in recurring EBIT, free cash flow and earnings per share.”The group’s acquisition of Firestone Building Products officially closed at the end of March 2021 and the company has also made seven ‘bolt-on’ acquisitions so far in 2021, mainly in aggregate and ready-mixed concrete markets in Europe and North America. The group also agreed to divest operations in Zambia, Malawi and the Indian Ocean in the reporting period and these are all expected to complete by the end of 2021.
Mexico: Cemex sales grew by 17% year-on-year to US$7.27bn in the first half of 2021 from US$5.98bn in the same period in 2020. Its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 38% to US$1.50bn from US$1.09bn. Cement and concrete sales volumes increased by 16% to 34Mt and 9% to 24.1Mm3. Growth was reported in all regions, often due to recovery from coronavirus-related lockdowns in the first half of 2020.
“Quarterly highlights include the achievement of our long-time leverage goal, a 39% increase in quarterly EBITDA, and our announcement of industry leading Climate Action targets,” said Fernando A González, the chief executive officer of Cemex. “Our growth in the quarter, which exceeded pre-pandemic levels, gives us confidence that this performance is sustainable in the second half of the year.”
Mexico/US: GCC plans to spend US$450 - 500m on upgrade projects to its cement business over the next three years to 2024. It is considering building a new 1.1Mt/yr clinker production line at an unnamed existing plant but the board of directors has yet to make a final decision. Other projects include strengthening the group’s cement distribution network in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Utah in the US. This would also include building two new cement terminals. A debottlenecking project is being planned at the Samalayuca plant in Chihuahua state. This would increase the plant’s production capacity by 0.2Mt/yr and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022. A final project is also scheduled for the Chihuahua plant to improve operational efficiency, and enhance social and environmental responsibility.
In earnings conference call notes for the second quarter of 2021 the cement producer reported for the US: “Every kiln at GCC is up and running; for practical purposes, our system is sold out.” It also noted bottlenecks in its grinding, storage and shipping installed capacity.