September 2024
Vietnam: The Ministry of Construction has opposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s proposal to transfer the Quang Son cement plant from Vietnam Industrial Construction Corporation (Vinaincon) to Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) on the grounds of the plant’s losses and debts. Both Vinaincon and Vicem are government owned, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper.
Luong Quang Khai, chairman of Vicem’s board of members, said that the Quang Son cement plant is located in a poor position for transport logistics, which has led to high production costs. The plant has also suffered from losses while its loans have grown to equal 95% of the plant’s total investment. Khai also noted that the potential new owner Vicem has undergone financial difficulties following its acquisition of the Ha Long and Song Thao cement plants.
Previously, the Ministry of Industry and Trade suggested that the government transfer the Quang Son cement plant to Vicem from Vinaincon. Under the proposal, Vicem would back the loans taken out by Vinaincon for the Quang Son cement plant. Formerly known as the Thai Nguyen cement plant, Quang Son started commercial operation in July 2011 with a cement production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr.
Mexico: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua’s (GCC) net sales rose by 11.4% year-on-year to US$399m in the first half of 2018 from US$358m in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 22% to US$115m from US$94.2m.
Its US sales rose by 11.1% to US$283m and its Mexican sales rose by 7% to US$60m. Cement sales volumes increased by 6.1% and 2.5% in the US and Mexico respectively. However, the cement producer reported falling sales volumes in the second quarter of 2018 in the US due to poor weather in Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota and delays in paving projects.
Nigeria: Lafarge Africa is considering raising up to US$248m in a share sale. The sale will take place in the fourth quarter of 2018 said chief financial officer Bruno Bayet whilst reporting the company’s half-year results, according to Bloomberg. Its sales rose by 5% year-on-year to US$448m in the first half of 2018 from US$427m in the same period in 2017. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 25% to US$76.4m from US$102m. The subsidiary of Switzerland’s LafargeHolcim blamed its falling earnings on poor performance in South Africa.
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal dismisses appeal by Indian cement producers against fine 25 July 2018
India: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed an appeal by cement producers against a US$975m fine for alleged cartel-like behaviour. The Competition Commission of India penalised 11 cement companies in August 2016, according to the Press Trust of India. The companies included UltraTech Cement, ACC, Ambuja, Ramco and JK Cement and the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA). UltraTech Cement has been fined US$171m, the highest amount in the group.
Ukraine: Cement production fell by 3.5% year-on-year to 4.01Mt in the first half of 2018. In June 2018 production rose by 5.2% year-on-year to 1.03Mt, according to the Ukrainian News Agency. In 2017 the country’s cement production increased by 2.3% to 9.31Mt.
India: ACC’s net sales rose by 14% year-on-year to US$1.06bn in the first half of 2018 from US$934m in the same period in 2017. Its net profit after tax rose by 8% to US$125m from US$108m. Its sales volumes of cement increased by 8% to 14.4Mt from 13.3Mt.
Neeraj Akhoury, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of ACC, said that input prices, such as fuel and slag, and logistics costs were continuing to mount. However, the company has made operational and productivity efficiencies that had partly offset this.
Qatar: Qatar National Cement’s sales revenue dropped by 21.9% year-on-year to US$119m in first half of 2018 from US$153m in the same period in 2017. Its net profit rose slightly to US$46.2m, according to the Qatar Tribune newspaper.
Italcementi to keep Arquata Scrivia plant open 24 July 2018
Italy: Italcementi plans to keep the Arquata Scrivia grinding plant open. The assurance was given to union representatives following worker redundancies at the unit, according to Alessandria News. The subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement competed its purchase of the plant from Cementir Italia in January 2018. It has since been rebranded under the Cemitaly brand.
Hermann Trollius order for Gebr. Pfeiffer 24 July 2018
Germany: Hermann Trollius has purchased a used MPS 125 A type mill as part of a capacity expansion and has additionally ordered a selection of new equipment from Gebr. Pfeiffer. The company operates a lime and crushed stone works at Lauterhofen in Bavaria. It produces limestone and dolomite for use in the building, steel, glass, sugar and animal feed industries, as well as for agricultural applications.
Gebr. Pfeiffer will assist Hermann Trollius in setting up the entire grinding plant, taking maintenance measures on the MPS mill and coordinating the delivery of the additional plant equipment. Two distribution table SUT 2800 type separators will be supplied by Gebr. Pfeiffer along with a TRT Triplex dryer with a length of 3.15m and a diameter of 2000mm to be used for drying dolomite, which has a moisture of 4 - 11%. The dryer will have a new hot gas generator of the type HMG 900 for natural gas firing. The hot gas generator to be used for the mill will be of the HMG 800 type.
The new machines will be on the site in early November 2018 so that the customer’s new plant will go online in early 2019 at the latest.
Nigeria: The recovery of the local economy has driven the performance of Dangote Cement’s sales in the first half of 2018. Its sales revenue grew by 16.9% year-on-year to US$1.34bn from US$1.15bn. Revenue in Nigeria rose by 18.1% to US$959m and in the rest of Africa (Pan Africa) they rose by 11.4% to US$386m.
“Our first-half performance was very strong and driven by an excellent recovery in Nigeria, where our sales volumes increased by nearly 14% and revenues rose by more than 18%. Pan-African operations saw a slight fall in volumes but both revenues and earnings before interest taxation depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased because of better pricing and currency conversion effects.” said Joe Makoju, Group Chief Executive Officer. Makoju also mourned the loss of colleagues who were been killed in a gun attack in the group’s subsidiary in Ethiopia in May 2018.
Sales volumes of cement in the group’s Pan Africa region fell by 3.9% to 4.57Mt from 4.75Mt due to lower sales in Tanzania, disruptions due to civil unrest in Ethiopia and a reduction in exports from Nigeria to Ghana. However, the group noted stronger performances in other Pan-African territories, notably Zambia, and volumes outside of Nigeria benefited from maiden first half sales from Congo and increased volumes in Sierra Leone. Sales volumes in Nigeria increased by 13.9% to 7.81Mt from 6.86Mt. EBITDA rose by 20.8% to US$685m from US$568m with a particular emphasis on earnings in the group’s Pan-Africa region.