September 2024
Ivory Coast hits cement production capacity of 10Mt/yr 12 November 2018
Ivory Coast: Xavier Saint-Martin-Tillet, the head of the Ivory Coast Cement Association, says that the country has a cement production capacity of 10Mt/yr. However, the local market is estimated to only consume 4Mt/yr, according to the Agence de Presse Africaine. Saint-Martin-Tillet made the comment at the Abidjan Infrastructure Exhibition.
Cementir results adjust to business outside of Italy 09 November 2018
Italy: Cementir’s sales and earnings have benefited from new assets in the US as well as good performance in Belgium and China. Its sales revenue rose by 4.8% year-on-year to Euro893m in the first nine months of 2018 from Euro852m in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 5.2% to Euro163m from Euro155m. Its cement sales volumes fell by 1.8% to 7.52Mt from 7.66Mt. However, these figures take into account the company’s sale of its Italian operations.
Francesco Caltagirone Jr, chairman and chief executive officer, said, “In the first nine months of 2018 the EBITDA benefited on the one hand from the contribution of the US by Euro12.3m and from the improvement in Belgium and China, on the other it suffered the deterioration of earnings in Egypt due to the curfew introduced in February 2018 and the resulting stop of all transport activities until May 2018, in Norway due to bad weather in the first quarter, and in Turkey due to the economic and currency crisis getting worse in the month of August.”
In March 2018 the company purchased a controlling stake in Lehigh White Cement in the US from HeidlebergCement. It operates the company with Cemex as a junior partner. In October 2018 Cementir, through its subsidiaries, acquired an additional stake in Egypt’s Sinai White Cement increasing its share to 71.1% from 66.4% for Euro3.8m.
Loma Negra rides weakening demand to grow earnings 09 November 2018
Argentina: Loma Negra’s net revenue grew by 42.3% year-on-year to US$435m in the first nine months of 2018 from US$305m in the same period in 2017. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 46.5% to US$113m from US$77.3m. Overall, its cement masonry and lime sales volumes remained stable at 5.1Mt but sales in Paraguay fell by 4.2% to 0.42Mt. Sales volumes fell in both Argentina and Paraguay in the third quarter of 2018.
Sergio Faifman, Loma Negra’s chief executive officer (CEO), said, “Our core Argentine Cement business, delivered both revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA margin expansion notwithstanding the challenging macro backdrop in the country in which our volume declined at a mid single-digit pace year-on-year in line with overall industry performance.”
The subsidiary of Brazil’s InterCement said that it is moving ahead with building a new US$350m production line at its L’Amalí plant. The new line will have a clinker production capacity of 5800t/day. The project is being built by China’s Sinoma International Engineering and it is expected to be completed by early 2020. Main equipment is expected to arrive at the site by the end of 2018 and the steel structure is under construction.
India Cements’ sales revenue stable in first half 09 November 2018
India: India Cements’ revenue has remained stable at US$379 in the first half of its financial year to 30 September 2018. Its profit more than halved to US$3.01m from US$6.91m. The cement producer is currently appealing against allegations of cartel-like behaviour by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). In late October 2018 it said it was buying Springway Mining for the aim of eventually building a new cement plant in Madhya Pradesh.
Cambodia cement plants produce 3.67Mt in first nine month of 2018 09 November 2018
Cambodia: The four local cement plants produced 3.67Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2018. The Ministry of Industry and Handicraft said that two more plants will open by December 2018, according to the Phnom Penh Post newspaper. Kampot Cement produced 2.21Mt, Cambodia Cement Chakrey produced 1.22Mt, Chip Mong Insee Cement produced 0.12mt and Battambang Conch Cement produced 0.11Mt. The new plants to be opened are Southern Cement (Cambodia) and Thai Boon Rong (Cement).
Zahana Cement orders crusher from Bedeschi 09 November 2018
Algeria: Zahana Cement, part of Groupe des Ciments d’Algérie (GICA), has ordered a RL 850/1500 double roller crusher from Italy’s Bedeschi. The contract is on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis and it includes the supply of the new machine, designed for 500t/hr of marl, the removal of the existing machine and the installation of the new crusher with the revamping of the existing electrical board. Commissioning is expected by mid-2018.
ARM Cement approach Dangote Cement about potential sale 09 November 2018
Kenya: Advisors to ARM Cement have approached Nigeria’s Dangote Cement about a potential sale, according to a source quoted by Reuters. The news follows reporting by Bloomberg that Dangote Cement has expressed an interest in the Kenyan cement producer. Owner Aliko Dangote also said in an interview that his company was in talks with an unnamed company about potential acquisition in Kenya and Tanzania. ARM Cement was placed in administration in August 2018.
BUA Group completes upgrade at Obu plant 09 November 2018
Nigeria: BUA Group has completed an upgrade at its Obu plant at Okpella in Edo State. The new 3Mt/yr production line has increased the plant’s production capacity to 6Mt/yr, according to the Punch newspaper. The completed project follows the inauguration of the company’s new 1.5Mt/yr production line at its Kalambaina cement plant in Sokoto State.
LafargeHolcim launches road cement product in Ivory Coast 09 November 2018
Ivory Coast: LafargeHolcim has launched Bélier Cement CemRoute, its first road cement product in the country. It was presented at the Exhibition of Infrastructures of Abidjan. It follows joint work between LafargeHolcim’s research centre and the Laboratory of Public Works of Ivory Coast.
The cement producer says that the new product offers specific advantages to road builders including releasing less heat than other comparable products, less cracking and increased durability of pavements by improving the bearing capacity of the soil.
LafargeHolcim also used the product launch to introduce the ‘LaboMobile,’ a mobile laboratory for on-site analysis. The laboratory is intended to help builders improve the performance of their work through material identification, concrete formulation, optimisation studies and/or control.
Germany: Poor weather in the US and rising energy prices have reduced HeidelbergCement’s earnings so far in 2018. Its result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation (RCOBD) fell by 7% year-on-year to Euro2.23bn in the first nine months of 2018 from Euro2.41bn in the same period in 2017. Despite this, its revenue rose by 3% to Euro13.4bn from Euro13bn and its sales volumes of cement grew by 4% to 97Mt from 93.5Mt. By region, revenue rose in all regions except for North America, but RCOBD fell in Western and Southern Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.
“Improved financial costs and lower taxes overcompensated weaker than expected results from current operations due to significant rainfalls in our core markets in the USA as well as a higher than planned energy cost inflation,” said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement. He added that, “Due to the weaker operational development, we had to partially adapt our outlook for 2018. As a countermeasure we have initiated an action plan with focus on three levers: portfolio optimisation, operational excellence as well as cash flow and shareholder return.”