Displaying items by tag: Expansion
Lafarge Malaysia profits slump due to weak markets but plant expansions set to cut clinker transport costs
06 September 2016Malaysia: Lafarge Malaysia Bhd's management has said that for the first half ended June 30 2016, core net profit was down 69.4% mainly due to lower cement revenue (-5.3%) due to weaker demand for cement on the back of a slowdown in the property market and delay in the commencement of mega projects such as KL118 Tower project, Tun Razak Exchange; Holcim 'synergisation' costs of about US$4m and a higher effective tax rate (+13.8%) from lower capital allowances.
Management expects the effective tax rates to be normalised in the 2017 financial year from capital allowances from its newly-commenced Rawang (Selangor) and Kanthan (Perak) plants expansions.
With the new capacity expansion in the Rawang and Kanthan plants commencing in March and April 2016 respectively, management revealed that this would provide savings in overall transportation costs as clinker is no longer required to be delivered from Langkawi (Kedah) to its grinding units in Pasir Gudang (Johor) which can now be delivered from Kanthan instead - which is approximately half the travelling distance.
Malaysia is due to see an increase in overall cement production capacity of 13% in 2016 due to the completion of expansion projects and the weak market is expected to become tougher-still. Besides looking out for further cost-saving avenues, Lafarge Malaysia is also looking for differentiation in this competitive market through higher investment in dry-mix cement and strengthening of its brand name through more aggressive marketing.
Crimea’s only integrated cement plant to get upgrade
23 June 2016Crimea: JSC Bakhchysarai Factory Stroyindustriya, the only cement producer in Crimea, is implementing a modernisation programme. The company intends to change from the wet process to the semi-dry process, increasing its cement production capacity to 1.2Mt/yr, while considerably reducing the cost of production.
Cimencam to ramp up grinding capacity in 2018
05 May 2016Cameroon: Les Cimenteries du Cameroun (Cimencam), a subsidiary of the multinational LafargeHolcim, has announced that it has signed an investment agreement with the government for the construction of a new cement grinding unit in Nomayas.
The new US$40.3m installation is scheduled to start operation in 2018, initially with a capacity of 0.5Mt/yr. It will have the option to increase production to 1Mt/yr. The plant will use imported clinker from the port of Kribi.
India: Cement maker Burnpur Cement plans to invest US$75m to increase the company’s grinding capacity from 0.6Mt/yr to 3Mt/yr, according to the company's vice chairman and managing director Ashok Gutgutia. He said that the investment would be spent over the next three to four years.
Burnpur Cement is a small Indian cement producer that operates two plants, one in Asansol (West Bengal) and one in Patratu (Jharkhand). Each plant operates at a capacity of 0.3Mt/yr.
How the investment will be split between the plants is unclear, but the announcement comes as the company is building a third 2Mt/yr plant in West Bengal, which was announced previously. When the three projects are complete Burnpur will have increased its capacity by nearly 10-fold, from 0.6Mt/yr to 5Mtyr.
Thailand: Thailand will continue to be Italcementi Group's production base in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and as its springboard for expanding into Myanmar after HeidelbergCement acquires a 45% stake in the company in July 2016. Carlo Pesenti, the chief executive officer of Italcementi, made the comments about the future direction of the business in an interview with the Nation newspaper.
"HeidelbergCement, which will be the major shareholder of Italcementi when the deal is complete this July, has a policy to maintain the business in Thailand and its business plan to expand into Myanmar, because HeidelbergCement does not have a presence in Thailand,” said Pesenti. “Thailand is our production hub and business arm for expanding in ASEAN."
Italcementi Group holds a 49% stake of Asia Cement in Thailand. Asia Cement and its subsidiary Jalaprathan Cement have cement production capacity of 5Mt/yr. Asia Cement has set aside an investment budget of up to US$14m to maintain its three clinker and cement plants in Thailand. However, the company it waiting for the acquisition of Italcementi by HeidelbergCement before it can decide about expansion plans in Cambodia and other territories.
India: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved Anjani Portland Cement for a rights issue to raise US$11.3m. The proceeds from the offering will be used to build a 16MW coal-based captive power plant at one of the company's cement plants.
SEBI received draft documents for the rights issue on 30 December 2015 and issued its 'observations' on 23 March 2016. Issuance of 'observations' by SEBI is considered as a clearance to the issuer to go ahead with the share issues.
Shree Cement prepares for 10Mt/yr expansion project
30 March 2016India: Shree Cement has set aside US$905m to build three new integrated cement plants with a production capacity of 10Mt/yr. The first new plant in the line will have a production capacity of 3Mt/yr and will be situated in Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh. The Indian cement producer successfully bid for limestone deposits in Baloda Bazar in February 2016. The new plant will be announced by July 2016, according to the Business Standard newspaper.
“We will be bidding in at least 12 more limestone auctions and hope to win three to four of these. This will help us set up plants to increase our capacity,” said the Managing Director of Shree Cement, H M Bangur.
At present Shree Cement has a cement production capacity of 23.6Mt/yr from three clinker plants and six cement grinding plants in the states of Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Chhattisgarh. The expansion plans will be funded by the company’s internal accruals.
Dangote to spend US$450m on cement plant expansion in Ethiopia
19 November 2015Ethiopia: Dangote Cement is to invest US$450m to double its current production capacity to 5Mt/yr at its Oromia Plant. The Nigerian cement producer has already received a 36ha plot of land from Oromia State, near the plant's site in Mugher, Adebern Wereda.
The company requested the land from Oromia Investment Commission in September 2015. Now it is processing right of way issues at Wereda level. The new plant will employ 1300 people when it is completed, according to All Africa. The company also intends to open a bag factory to supply packaging for Dangote and others.
Ethiopia is estimated to have a cement production capacity of 15.1Mt/yr yet actual production is only 10Mt/yr. Cement production capacity is expected to reach 27Mt/yr by the end of country's second Growth and Transformation Plan.
Votorantim Cimentos expands its cement plant in Turkey
08 October 2015Brazil/Turkey: Votorantim Cimentos has announced investment plans of up to US$158m to expand its business in Turkey. As well as tripling the output of its cement plant in Sivas, Votorantim may set up or acquire a new plant to tap the growth potential of Turkey's construction sector, according to company officials.
"The investment in our Sivas plant will boost production capacity to 1.8Mt/yr, up from its current level of 600,000t/yr. Following the upgrade, the Sivas plant will account for 42% of Votorantim's cement production capacity in Turkey," said Sefik Tuzun, Votorantim Turkey's CEO. "Votorantim sees the potential of Turkey's construction sector and this investment shows our commitment to reinforcing our presence in Turkey. Sivas' expansion will bring a crucial dynamism and competitiveness to the company in the Turkish cement market."
The capacity upgrade will be completed by April 2017. The construction works for the extension will create employment for 700 people. Votorantim Turkey is active in cement production as well as concrete and aggregate businesses in the country, accounting for a share of about 29% of Votorantim Cimentos' total production capacity, excluding China.
Vicat to extend Kazakh plant and build new terminal
28 September 2015Kazakhstan: The Kazakh Vice Minister of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan Albert Rau has met with President of Vicat Group Guy Sidos and honorary president of the group Jacques Merceron-Vicat to discuss the operation and possible extension of Vicat's existing production plant at Zhambyl. The meeting also announced the construction of a US$10m terminal in Astana in 2016. The terminal will also act as a packing plant, research and testing centre.