Displaying items by tag: GCW314
Dangote targeting 1Mt of Zambian sales in 2017
08 August 2017Zambia: Dangote Industries Limited says it will continue to penetrate the Zambian cement industry and is targeting 1Mt of sales by the end of 2017. This follows record sales of 0.3Mt of cement during the first six months of 2017.
Country CEO Desmond Maharaj said that Dangote would look to spread its influence in more Zambian provinces going forward. He added that export markets such as Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo and the great lakes region were also attractive, hence leading to the company to produce more cement from its Zambian operations.
Record July for Pakistan
07 August 2017Pakistan: The cement sector in Pakistan recorded an all-time high single month sales in July 2017 as the commodity's sales and exports grew by 44% year-on-year to 3.38Mt. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said that sales and exports were 2.33Mt in July 2016. Domestic sales rose by 55% to 2.91Mt, while exports remained flat at 0.48Mt.
“The dispatch figures for July 2017 are most encouraging,” said an APCMA spokesman. “The industry has established a record for this month. Never before has the sector crossed the dispatch limit of 3Mt in July.” The spokesman added that the turnaround after a dismal performance in June 2017 had taken the industry by surprise and that the sharp increase in dispatches in July rekindled hopes for growth. “The dispatches were achieved despite political turmoil in the country and unprecedented rains throughout the country. This depicts the maturity of the construction sector in the country,” he said.
Exports to Afghanistan during the month increased by 40.3% year-on-year to 210,000t but this was off-set by a large fall in exports to India and elsewhere. Sales to India fell by 11.6% to 122,000t and to other countries sales fell by 19.0% to 144,000t.
Stronger cement demand in Argentina
07 August 2017Argentina: Cement production rose by 18.8% year-on-year to 1.01Mt in Argentina in July 2017, according to data from the local cement association AFCP. Sales including exports also climbed by 18.8%, rising by 0.9% compared with June 2017. Domestic sales, including imports, rose by 19.8% in July 2017. Domestic consumption totalled 1.01Mt in July 2017, around 1% above national consumption in June 2017.
Yguazu takes up slack during INC outage
07 August 2017Paraguay: Yguazu saw record sales of 1.1 million bags of cement in July 2017, according to Ernesto Acosta, the firm's industrial manager, largely because of supply issues that affected state-run cement firm INC. Yguazu reported that it ‘even had to open on Sundays.’ Normally, Yguazu’s sales stand at 0.9 -1.0 million bags per month. INC has now resolved its issues.
Ramco to ramp up grinding capacity
07 August 2017India: Ramco Cements is planning to make an investment of about US$172m in various projects, on the back of anticipated higher demand for cement in the near future. The company will invest in a range of projects, including expansion of its satellite grinding unit capacity. This move will enable the company to increase its presence in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal and will raise its total capacity to 7.1Mt/yr from 4.0Mt/yr at present. Expansions will be undertaken at its Visakhapatnam and Kolaghat plants, as well as at a new new grinding unit in Odisha. The projects will be commissioned within 18 months.
France: Vicat’s earnings have been negatively affected by the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound and performance issues in Turkey. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 8.7% year-on-year to Euro188m in the first half to 2017 from Euro206m in the same period in 2016. Its sales fell by 0.8% to Euro1.25bn from Euro1.24bn. By business line its cement sales fell by 4.2% to Euro612m and its cement sales volumes declined by 2.6% to 10.8Mt.
“The Vicat Group’s first-half performance was affected by very unfavourable weather conditions in Europe, the US and Turkey, especially at the beginning of the year, and by a difficult macro-economic and industrial environment in Egypt. Other key regions such as India, the US and France recorded improvements. In a year that should be characterised by a very strong seasonality effect, Vicat now expects to benefit from a marked progression in its activities in the second semester,” said the group’s chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Guy Sidos.
Buzzi Unicem sees recovery in Europe in first half of 2017
04 August 2017Italy: Buzzi Unicem has reported a recovery in Central Europe, a positive change in Eastern Europe and an improvement in Italy thanks to increased exports. It also noted muted demand in the US, particularly during the first quarter. Its net sales rose by 7.3% year-on-year to Euro1.35bn in the first half of 2017 from Euro1.26bn in the same period in 2016. Its cement sales volumes increased by 2.3% to 12.5Mt from 12.2Mt. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 8.4% to Euro241m from Euro223m.
Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry has confirmed its support for a plan to require cement importers to secure licenses and clearances for their products. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez backed the plan first issued in February 2017, according to the Philippines Star newspaper. The Department Administrative Order requires the application of the Philippine Standards licenses on foreign producers of cement imports and import commodity clearance on cement imports, as well as setting a minimum paid capitalisation of US$0.4m for all cement importers. The measures are intended to support domestic self-sufficiency in the cement industry.
Philippine Competition Commission expects to complete investigation of cement industry by 2019
03 August 2017Philippines: The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) expects to complete an investigation in alleged violations of competitive practice by the cement industry by 2019. PCC commissioner Stella Quimbo made the comments at a forum on the Philippines Competition Act (PCA), according to the Philippines Star newspaper. The investigation follows a probe earlier in 2017 in which the commission says it found reasonable grounds to proceed based on allegations made by the former trade undersecretary Victorio Dimagiba. According to a legal statement made by Dimagiba, the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP), led by its president Ernesto Ordonez, Lafarge Holcim Philippines and Republic Cement and Building Materials violated the provisions of the PCA by engaging in anti-competitive agreements.
FLSmidth to build cement plant for Cielo Azul in Uruguay
03 August 2017Uruguay: FLSmidth has been awarded an order from Cielo Azul Cementos y Calizas to build a 1200t/day cement plant at Treinta y Tres. The order is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017. The plant will be ready mix concrete producer Cielo Azul’s first cement production site.
The equipment being supplied includes an Atox 25.0 vertical mill for raw grinding, an Atox 13.5 vertical mill for coal grinding, a pyro processing system with low NOx ILC calciner, 3 base kiln, a Jetflex Burner, a Cross-Bar CB 6x29 cooler and OK 25-3 vertical mill for cement grinding, planetary gear units for vertical mills, bag filters, packing plant, control system, plant automation, weighing and metering systems.