September 2024
Mexico: Cemex Mexico’s Guadalajara cement plant has been awarded Clean Industry Certification by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA). The plant first received recognition for its environmental compliance in 1997, according to the El Informer newspaper.
Argentina: Loma Negra’s net revenue grew by 7.9% year-on-year to US$632m in 2018 from US$585m in 2017. However, its cement, masonry and lime sales volumes fell by 4.3% to 6.68Mt from 6.99Mt, mainly due to a decline in demand in Argentina. Despite this its concrete sales volumes increased by 30% to 1.07Mm3 from 0.82Mm3. The cement producer’s net profit decreased by 47% to US$46m from US$86.7m.
“We closed the year with another solid quarter, despite the challenging macro-economic environment in Argentina. Specifically, our core Argentine cement business, delivered both adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth and margin expansion, even with weaker volume demand in the country. We are also pleased to see that our concrete operations continued to deliver strong results, reaching record quarterly and annual volumes,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Sergio Faifman. He added that cement demand in Argentina fell by 2.6% in 2018 due to a weak second half of the year. This trend is expected to continue in the first half of 2019 before recovering.
India: The Cement Corporation of India has started the sale of its non-operating Nayagaon plant in Madhya Pradesh. Prospective bidders are invited to submit an expression of interest by mid-April 2019, according to the Press Trust of India. The Nayagaon plant was originally shut in 1997 but its mining lease remains valid for two quarries until early 2024.
The state-owned cement producer operates plants at Rajban in Himachal Pradesh, Bokajan in Assam and Tandur in Telangana. It has closed down integrated plants at Mandhar in Chhattisgarh, Kurkunta in Karnataka, Akaltara in Chhattisgarh, Charkhi and Dadri in Haryana, Adilabad in Telangana and Nayagaon in Madhya Pradesh. It has also closed grinding plants at Delhi and Bhatinda in Punjab. The company is planning to sell its non-operating plants first before divesting the operational units.
India: Residents of Jakhapura mouza, Jaipur district in Odisha have opposed plans by Chettinad Cement to build a 2Mt/yr grinding plant at the Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex. Local citizens voiced their opposition to the project at a public meeting on environmental grounds, according to the New Indian Express newspaper. The proposed plant has a budget of US$36m.
Spain: LafargeHolcim España says it is considering whether to keep its Sagunto cement plant open due to a dispute with the local government over an expansion to its quarry. The Valencian local government is set to block the plans, according to the Expansión newspaper. The cement producer maintains that preventing the expansion of the quarry will damage the plant’s development in the short to medium term.
PPC says that Zimbabwe business remains resilient 08 March 2019
Zimbabwe: South Africa’s PPC says that its business in Zimbabwe has remained resilient despite the economic ‘challenges’ experienced over the last year. It said that it had kept its pricing in line with inflation and that demand remained ‘strong.’ Its cautionary measures in the country include: keeping 90% of input costs locally sourced; increased exports; continuing clinker imports from South Africa; and share purchases of PPC on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Previously, PPC reported that growth had been low in Zimbabwe in 2018.
Egypt: Lafarge Egypt has been named as the sole cement supplier for base construction work by China State Construction Engineering (CSCE) for the Central Business District in the New Administrative Capital. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim will supply its cement based on a framework of the long-term partnership between Lafarge Egypt and CSCEC to erect several high-rise buildings, including a tower that is set to be the tallest in Africa. It will use its Hydrocem Plus cement product for the project. Lafarge Egypt will also take part in the concrete pouring for the foundations.
"We are proud to hold such a long-term cooperation with CSCE for the construction of such a historical project and we value their trust in our products’ quality, which magnifies our capabilities in providing tailored and unique products and solutions to meet our customers' needs. Additionally our capability as a company helped us supply large quantities of cement in a short time which helped complete the pouring in 40 consecutive hours only," said Hussein Mansi, Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Egypt.
Lafarge Egypt is also engaged in a number of projects in the New Administrative Capital project, including different types of concrete products and steel fibres.
Cost-cutting counts for LafargeHolcim 07 March 2019
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim made a return to a net profit in 2018 as its ongoing cost-cutting program began to take effect. It reported a net profit of Euro1.32bn. Sales rose to Euro24.2bn from Euro23.78bn. In the fourth quarter of 2018 LafargeHolcim said that its recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (REBITDA) edged up to Euro1.47bn from Euro1.43bn.
The company confirmed its outlook from November 2018, in which it said it expected sales growth within the 3-5% range on a like-for-like basis for 2019. It also expects to lift its REBITDA by at least 5%.
Chief Executive Jan Jenisch has been cutting costs and simplifying LafargeHolcim since he took over as CEO in 2017. He said the company's performance had improved during the second half of 2018, adding that he was expecting an acceleration of sales growth and earnings in 2019.
Usje profit falls in 2018 07 March 2019
North Macedonia: Cementarnica Usje, part of the Greek Titan Cement group, reported that its non-consolidated net profit fell by 4% year-on-year in 2018 to Euro16.3m. Its total operating revenue edged up to Euro75m in 2018 from Euro74m in 2017. Domestic market sales rose by 3% to Euro47m, while sales abroad fell 3% to Euro24m.
Eagle Cement’s income rises 13% 07 March 2019
Philippines: Eagle Cement's net income reached US$88m in 2018, a 13% increase from US$82m in 2017. It credited strong sales, despite some macroeconomic headwinds. The company’s net sales rose by 11% to US$320m from US$290m. In the fourth quarter alone, net income surged by 39%.
"While we are faced with challenges in the industry, we remain steadfast to expand the company to meet the increasing local demand for cement, driven by the thriving property sector and growth in consumption, as well as the anticipated roll out of the government's infrastructure projects," said Eagle Cement’s President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Ang.