Displaying items by tag: GCW209
FLSmidth to supply cement plant to DG Khan Cement
13 July 2015Pakistan: FLSmidth has signed a Euro57m contract with DG Khan Cement to supply engineering and equipment for a 8500t/day greenfield cement plant in Pakistan.
"Pakistan is a very important market for FLSmidth and we are extremely pleased that DG Khan has again chosen FLSmidth as its supplier. This underlines its valuable long-term ties with DG Khan Cement, as well as our strong foothold in Pakistan, where we expect to see more activity following new government development programmes," said president of the cement division, Per Mejnert Kristensen.
The first contract between DG Khan and FLSmidth dates back to 1992. Since then the partnership has resulted in three additional orders to FLSmidth in 1998, 2005 and 2007. The new order will be booked by the cement division and will contribute beneficially to FLSmidth's earnings until 2017.
India: According to India Investment News, Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel has inaugurated a new grinding plant at Sanghi Industries' plant in Abdasa, Kutch.
The new grinding plant will have a production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr that will enable the company to boost its cement production capacity to 4.1Mt/yr from 2.9Mt/yr. The plant will cost around US$19.7m. The chief minister also laid the foundation stone for a 15MW waste heat recovery (WHR) system that will recycle waste heat of the cement plant into power. Sanghi Industries will inject US$23.6m to develop the WHR project, which it intends to commission in the next two years.
Cement production in Iran exceeds 15.8Mt
13 July 2015Iran: The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade has announced that in the first three months of 2015, cement production reached 15.8Mt and clinker output was 19.3Mt. In the same period, more than 12.7Mt of cement was distributed inside the country and 4.34Mt of cement was exported.
The Employers Guild Association for the cement industry said that, in the Iranian year 1393 (to 21 March 2015), cement and clinker exports exceeded 18.9Mt, up from 18.8Mt in 1392. Iran produced 66.4Mt of cement in the year and 70Mt of clinker.
Oman: According to Middle East North Africa Financial Network, Oman Cement has reported a more than 40% decline in net profit for the first six months of 2015. Net profit fell to US$14.1m from US$23.6m a year earlier.
Oman Cement's sales revenue declined marginally to US$65.7m in the first half of 2015 compared with US$66.7m in the corresponding period of 2014. Investment and other income fell sharply by 54.1% to US$4.68m from US$10.2m in 2014. As a result, Oman Cement's total revenue fell by 7.7% US$70.9m.
In June 2015, Oman Cement disclosed that due to operational difficulties it had to prolong the shutdown of one of its kilns. The kiln, with 4000t/day clinker production capacity, was closed for planned maintenance, which was to be completed in early June 2015. Oman Cement warned that the prolonged shutdown of a kiln would have an impact on its second-quarter performance.
Oman Cement's total expenses rose by 8.2% to US$55.3m in the first six months of 2015 compared to US$51.2m in the same period of 2014. The Ministry of Oil and Gas had increased the price of natural gas supplied to industrial companies by 100% from 1 January 2015. As such, Oman Cement's gas price was hiked from US$1.5/mmbtu to US$3/mmbtu. The company expects its gas costs to rise by an estimated US$17.2m in 2015.
Europe: Holcim Ltd and Lafarge SA have completed their global merger and have launched LafargeHolcim. The merger completion was dated 10 July 2015. All conditions for the completion of the merger were fulfilled following the successful completion of the public exchange offer and the issuance of new Holcim shares to Lafarge shareholders. Holcim's shareholders had previously approved the merger-related resolutions at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 8 May 2015.
With the completion of the merger, the mandate of the new board of directors and of the new executive committee with Eric Olsen as CEO has become effective. LafargeHolcim will also unveil its new logo and corporate identity. It has been designed to demonstrate that Holcim and Lafarge have united to form one company, expressing the leadership and strength of the new group.
"Today's closing is a historic event, not only for our two founding companies, but also for the industry as a whole. LafargeHolcim has a unique business portfolio, is the industry benchmark in research and devlopment and offers its customers the widest range of innovative and value-adding products, services and solutions, from smallholders to large enterprises and most complex projects," said Wolfgang Reitzle, co-chairman (statutory chairman) of the board of directors of LafargeHolcim.
"This new company is built on the rich history and culture of Lafarge and Holcim and its teams. The merger has not only resulted in a larger and more global company but brings about a unique set of complementary capabilities to capitalize on. Under the leadership of Eric Olsen, the new Group will foster a new operating model and create more value for all our stakeholders," said Bruno Lafont, co-chairman of the board of directors of LafargeHolcim.
The new LafargeHolcim shares will be traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange as well as the Euronext in Paris as of 14 July 2015. As announced, LafargeHolcim will re-open the public exchange offer to give the remaining Lafarge shareholders the opportunity to also tender their shares. The new offer period will start on 15 July 2015 for a duration of ten trading days until 28 July 2015.
Final public exchange offer results published for LafargeHolcim merger, Bernard Fontana steps down as Holcim CEO
10 July 2015Europe: The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has published the final results of the public exchange offer initiated by Holcim Ltd for the shares of Lafarge SA.
Following the settlement-delivery of the offer expected to occur on 10 July 2015, Holcim Ltd will hold 252,230,673 Lafarge SA shares, representing 87.46% of the share capital and at least 83.94% of the voting rights of Lafarge SA based on the total number of shares outstanding as of 8 July 2015. In accordance with the AMF general regulations, the offer will be re-opened during at least 10 trading days according to a timetable that will be published by the AMF.
Holcim has announced that in connection with the successful public exchange offer and the expected closing of the merger with Lafarge, Bernard Fontana will step down from his position as CEO of Holcim Ltd with the completion of the merger. He will also resign from all mandates in all Holcim Group entities.
"It has been a pleasure and honour to work with remarkable and passionate people throughout the past years at Holcim. I wish the new company LafargeHolcim and the entire team all the very best for the future," said Fontana. The board of directors has thanked Fontana for his leadership and achievements for the group, and in particular for the successful implementation of the Holcim Leadership Journey.
Andreas Leu, currently responsible for the Americas, will also leave Holcim with effect from 1 August 2015. Bernard Terver, currently responsible for Africa and the Middle East as well as South Asia, will assume the position as head of India for LafargeHolcim from the date of the closure of the merger. In this capacity he will continue his mandates in the boards of Ambuja Cements and ACC Limited in India. Holcim's board of directors and the executive committee have thanked Leu for his contributions to the success of the group and wish him all the very best for his future.
China: According to Reuters, Chinese cement companies, including Huaxin Cement, covered by the carbon market in Hubei Province will likely be forced to spend millions of Chinese Yuan on permits before the compliance deadline on 10 July 2015 after authorities rejected their pleas for leniency.
In June 2015, the companies asked regulators to let them borrow some permits from the 2016 quota, saying that they could not afford to buy permits to cover their obligations for 2014. However, their requests were rejected, easing market concerns that big emitters would be let off the hook.
Huaxin Cement, Hubei's biggest cement producer, has been under particular pressure to buy over the last few trading days as it has a shortfall of 1.15 million permits. "Local officials have talked through the consequences of non-compliance with cement plants, so Huaxin Cement approved a US$6.44m budget to pay for permits," said a trader who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to media.
Trading volumes on the Hubei carbon exchange have surged ahead of the deadline in the absence of any indication that the compliance date, initially set for 31 May 2015, would be pushed back for a second time. As of 9 July 2015, 44 companies, or 32% of the total 138 firms, did not have enough permits to cover their obligations. Of these, 26 were cement producers. A manager with Gezhouba Cement Group, Hubei's second-largest cement producer, said that its permit allocation had been miscalculated.
Companies covered by the Hubei exchange are only obliged to buy a maximum of 200,000 permits, regardless of how much they overshoot their cap. However, Gezhouba has eight subsidiaries in the scheme, bringing its total permit demand to more than a million. "The scheme is punishing big producers, but not inefficient competitors," said the Gezhouba manager. "We pleaded with the government to re-issue permits and narrow the gap, but we have not got any reply. How can we spend tens of millions on carbon?"
Philippines: According to BusinessWorld, San Miguel Group plans to invest US$2bn to build two cement facilities and a nickel processing plant as part of its diversification efforts into new growth areas.
San Miguel has allocated US$800m for the two 2Mt/yr cement facilities, according to San Miguel president Ramon S Ang. Construction has already begun. One of the facilities is located at Northern Cement's plant in Pangasinan, while the other is being built in Quezon. In 2013, San Miguel paid US$77.5m for a 35% stake in Northern Cement, which is owned by the conglomerate's chairman, Eduardo M Cojuangco, Jr. The facilities, which are expected to be completed in 2017, will be funded by 50% debt and 50% equity.
San Miguel's venture into the cement business comes as it participates in major infrastructure projects. San Miguel-led Optimal Infrastructure Development won the contract for the US$351m second stage of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway Project. San Miguel is also building the US$591m third stage of the Metro Manila Skyway and the Tarlac- Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, as well as expanding the South Luzon Expressway.
Cade ends inquest into Votorantim, Itambe and Cimpor
09 July 2015Brazil: According to the Esmerk Latin American News, Brazil's economic defence body Cade has ended its administrative inquest against Votorantim Cimentos, Cia de Cimento Itambe and Cimpor Cimentos do Brasil. The investigation was into the alleged breech of economic order through actions such as the refusal to sell certain types of cement to independent firms from 2008 onward. The illicit operations were alleged to have affected companies in Rio Grande do Sul and in the south east and central west regions.