Displaying items by tag: Brazil

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has announced the conclusion of its acquisition of a mortar production unit from Supermassa. The plant, located in Ananindeua, Belem, in the state of Para, has capacity of 0.15Mt/yr. Votorantim Cimentos notes that the total investment, including the acquisition, modernisation of technology, installation of automation and other improvements, will total US$4.3m.

The acquisition is part of the company's growth and geographical diversification strategy. The purchase is the company's 11th mortar production unit, and brings its mortar production capacity up to 2.5Mt/yr.

Argentina: Sergio Faifman, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Loma Negra has said that his company does not export cement because it is ‘not competitive’ with other countries. He cited logistical issues with transporting clinker and cement to ports, in an interview with the Ámbito Financiero newspaper. He also mentioned that the costs per tonne of cement in Brazil and Egypt were 30% and 50% respectively cheaper than in Argentina. In a ranging interview Faifman also discussed the cement producer’s labour problems at its Baker plant , its on-going upgrade at its L'Amali plant and negative effects from the local currency devaluation in 2018.

Brazil: Data from SNIC, the Brazilian national cement industry union, shows that sales rose by 1.5% year-on-year to 25.8Mt in the first half of 2019 from 25.5Mt in the same period in 2018. SNIC president Paulo Camillo Penna said that the growth was in line with SNIC’s forecasts and that more ‘robust’ growth was anticipated the second half of the year. He added that the growth in cement sales had been supported by the real estate market and that the industrial sector was also growing.

Brazil: InterCement is to stop production at its integrated Pedro Leopoldo plant in Minas Gerais. It plans to temporarily run the unit as a cement terminal, according to Por Dentro De Tudo. The plant has 53 employees. 28 will be relocated to other plants in the company and the remaining 25 will be made redundant.

Brazil: CSN Cimentos is planning to spend around US$390m on building a new 3Mt/yr cement plant in Paraná. Eduardo Bekin, president of the Paraná State Development Agency, said that the company already had the authorisation to conduct economic viability studies and should confirm the plant by late August 2019, according to the Valor Econômico newspaper. CSN is also considering building the plant in Sergipe state, where it operates a limestone mine. The final decision will depend on the best tax environment for the cement producer.

Brazil: According to data from SNIC, the Brazilian national cement industry union, 4.6Mt of cement was sold in Brazil during May 2019. The figure is 27.6% higher compared to May 2018, with the large percentage increase due to the low base resulting from a truck drivers’ strike in May 2018. The first five months of 2019 recorded sales of 21.6Mt, a 5.6% year-on-year rise.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos’ revenue rose by 5.5% year-on-year to US$615m in the first quarter of 2019 from US$683m in the same period in 2018. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) more than doubled to US$143m from US$52.2m. Its sales volumes of cement fell by 5% to 6.4Mt from 6.7Mt. It attributed the increase in revenue to its results in Brazil and Latin America, as well as positive currency effects.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos plans to spend around US$50m on upgrading its 0.2Mt/yr grinding plant at Pecém in Ceará. It will increase the unit’s production capacity by 0.8Mt/yr. The official announcement was made during a meeting between Camilo Santana, the governor of Ceará, and the board of Votorantim.

Bolivia: Imports of cement fell by 30% year-on-year to 0.19Mt in 2018 from 0.27Mt in 2017. Data from the Bolivian Foreign Trade Institute and the National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia shows that cement imports were 0.51Mt in 2016, according to Hoy Bolivia. In 2018 Peru was the largest exporting country to Bolivia followed by Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. An increase in local production through the opening on new plants has contributed to the declining imports.

France: Vicat’s sales have risen due to its acquisition of Ciplan in Brazil. Its sales rose by 4.7% year-on-year to Euro600m in the first quarter of 2019 from Euro573m in the same period in 2018. However, adjusted for the acquisition, its sales remain stable. The group’s cement sales revenue fell by 1.4% to Euro302m when similarly adjusted. Its concrete and aggregate sales rose by 6.6% to Euro225m.

“The rise in prices across all zones has resulted in stable consolidated sales at constant scope and perimeter, despite strong volume erosions in Turkey as a result of the 2018 lira devaluation and of the consequences of highly adverse weather conditions in California. The integration of Ciplan in Brazil is on track amid conditions that are stabilising after several years of major consumption falls,” said chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Guy Sidos.

By region sales were strong in France, stable in the rest of Europe and Africa and poor in the Americas, Asia and Turkey. Poor weather in California dragged down sales in the US, competition was reported in India and an economic slowdown was reported in Turkey.