Displaying items by tag: GCW234

Canada/Luxembourg: Algoma Central Corp has entered into a joint venture agreement with Nova Marine Holding SA of Luxembourg and its subsidiaries to create a global fleet of cement carriers to support infrastructure projects worldwide. Algoma will own 50% of the joint venture, which will be named NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers (NACC).

"We are very excited about the opportunity this investment with Nova presents," said Ken Soerensen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Algoma. "NACC is an excellent example of a global short-sea shipping business that shares many characteristics with our domestic dry-bulk business. In fact, Algoma currently provides technical and operations management services for three cement carrying vessels on the Great Lakes on behalf of major cement producers."

The demand for modern efficient cement carriers continues to increase globally. Growth is fuelled by demand for infrastructure in developing regions, by infrastructure renewal in mature markets, by consolidation among major cement producers and by the need to renew an aging fleet.

"We are very pleased to be able to work with our experienced partner, Nova, in this segment," said Wayne Smith, Senior Vice President, Commercial, of Algoma. "We see opportunities in both existing markets and globally for the renewal of cement carrier vessels."

Under the terms of the agreement, upon the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, Algoma will acquire a 50% interest in the existing cement carrier fleet owned by Nova, comprising three pneumatic cement carriers now in operation and two additional vessels under construction. These five vessels are and will be deployed in various regional markets in Asia and Europe.

"The cement business is becoming more global and consolidated. We are excited by the prospects of this venture because it aims to create a dedicated group to serve the cement industry in its global logistic needs," said Vincenzo Romeo, Chief Executive Officer of Nova Marine Holding SA.

Zimbabwe: Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company 42.5 grade Ordinary Portland cement for the construction of tall structures, bridges and roads in the first quarter of 2016.

The Gweru-based cement manufacturer, a joint venture between the Industrial Development Corporation and China Building Materials Corporation (CBMC), already has 22.5 grade masonry cement, which is recommended for masonry work, brick, mortar, plastering and general building and 32.5 grade portland composite cement, which is used for the construction of high strength structures.

Wang Yong, Managing Director of Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company, said that the company was now awaiting certification from the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) before they could make the product available on the market. "We have already applied for the licence for us to introduce 42.5 grade cement on the market and I believe it will be issued after SAZ, which has already collected some samples, has certified the product," said Yong.

Germany: HeidelbergCement has successfully issued debt certificates in the amount of Euro625m, further strengthening its financing structure. Due to high demand, it was possible to significantly increase the issue volume from Euro400m to Euro625m.

The newly-issued debt certificates, with a maturity date of 20 January 2022, consist of two tranches; one tranche with a floating rate and the other with a fixed rate. The fixed rate tranche yields at 1.85%/yr and the floating tranche at 1.5%/yr over six months Euribor.

The proceeds will be utilised to pre-fund the upcoming Italcementi acquisition and thereby reduce the volume of the bridge financing from Euro3.3bn to Euro2.7bn. The refinancing needs in the bond market decline to below Euro2bn, correspondingly.

Issuance of the debt certificates was secured with the assistance of Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen and Raiffeisen Bank International.

As previously reported, the bridge financing should be refinanced by free cash flow, the sale of production sites and the issuance of bonds. The reduction in the volume of bridge financing thus also reduces the need for refinancing in the bond market by the same amount.

Oman: Oman Cement Company reported a net profit of US$12.2m in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 172% year-on-year rise and a 208% quarter-on-quarter rise. Sales revenues were US$37.7m, a rise of 4% year-on-year.

The company did not provide further details on cement unit sales or prices, but it is possible that the company may have been able to sell a larger-than-expected quantity of cement during the quarter.

Ecuador: Hormicreto has ordered two calciner burners and a hot gas generator for its swing mill application, for alternative liquid fuels firing, with a thermal capacity of 5.2MW, including the complete the fuel pumping, heating and valve train, from FCT Combustion for its cement plant in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Vietnam: Around 74 – 75Mt of cement is expected to be sold in 2016, some 3Mt more than that in 2015. In 2016, no new plants will be put into operation, as the capacity of current plants will meet demands.

According to Le Van Toi, Head of the Building Materials Department under the Ministry of Construction, total output of cement will rise in 2016, as a plant of the Cong Thanh Cement Group increased its capacity by 3.6Mt/yr in late 2015.

In 2015, two cement projects were put into operation, raising the number of production lines to 76 with a total designed capacity of 81.5Mt/yr. Over 72Mt of cement is estimated to have been sold in 2015, up by 3% compared to 2014. Some 16.3Mt was shipped abroad, down by 17.3% year-on-year, but domestic consumption rose by 11.1% to 56.5Mt.

Germany: Vortex Global Limited, a European solids and bulk handling components company, has appointed the team of Adams Industrievertretungen as its exclusive agent in Germany. The company has a strong presence throughout Germany, which includes locations in Gernsbach, Mönsheim, Heilbronn, Augsburg and Ludwigshafen.

"Adams Industrievertretungen has valuable knowledge in the food, chemical, plastic, cosmetic, mineral and pharmaceutical industries," said Laurence Millington, International Sales Manager of Vortex. "They are dedicated to offering our clients the best processing solutions on the market. We believe Adams Industrievertretungen will be an excellent strategic supplier for Vortex."

Canada: Cement manufacturers produced 1.11Mt of cement products in November 2015, down by 12.2% compared to October 2015. Domestic cement shipments fell by 15% from October 2015 to 1.08Mt in November 2015. Including imports, shipments were down by 19.9% to 1.10Mt.

China: State-owned China Resources Cement said that it expects its 2015 net profit to have fallen sharply year-on-year due to lower selling prices and exchange losses from foreign loans, following dismal data for the first nine months of 2015.

Its net profit for the nine months of 2015 fell by 60.6% year-on-year to US$165m, as its exchange loss from non-Chinese Yuan net borrowings surged fourfold year-on-year to US$83.8m. Cement and clinker also suffered from narrow gross margins of 24.1% and 11.3% for the nine months that ended on 30 September 2015 compared to 34.6% and 13.9% from 2014.