Displaying items by tag: Mexico

France: Fives’ Process Technologies division’s commercial activities, including those to the cement market, have improved in 2021 following recovery in market confidence following the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Its order intake increased by 43% year-on-year to Euro702m in 2021 from Euro490m in 2020. Its sales fell by 2% to Euro623m from Euro637m. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 63%. In the cement sector, Fives said that the North American market had been active. It reported ‘significant’ orders in Mexico, partly in response to the growing US market driven by the government’s infrastructure bill that was approved in late 2021. Fives also noted growth in Canada, where several companies are working towards carbon neutral production.

Overall, across all market divisions, Fives’ order intake, sales and earnings increased in 2021.

Mexico: The local government in Santiago de Anaya has revealed that Cementos Fortaleza is planning to build a second production line at its integrated El Palmar plant in Hidalgo. The project is expected to cost US$210m, according to the El Sol de Mexico newspaper. Cementos Fortaleza currently operates a 1Mt/yr plant at the site.

Mexico: Cemex intends for its Vertua products to account for over half of all of its cement and concrete sales by 2025. The Vertua range was launched in 2020 and its cement and concrete products accounted for 34% and 31% of total sales respectively in the first quarter of 2022. Vertua products have a CO₂ reduction of at least 25% compared to traditional cements. For concrete the CO₂ reduction ranges from 30% up to a full net-zero option.

References for Vertua concrete include La Marseillaise, a skyscraper in Marseille, the HS2 high-speed railway in London, the Querétaro-Irapuato highway in Mexico, the San Diego State University stadium in California and the Pereira shopping centre in Colombia. Vertua cement and concrete products have been launched in Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Spain, the US, the UK and the UAE.

Mexico: Eight people have died in an armed clash at Cooperativa La Cruz Azul’s Hidalgo cement plant. The El País newspaper has reported that attackers riding in multiple trucks arrived at the plant in the early hours of 27 April 2022. In addition to the eight dead, a further 12 people were wounded in the ensuing fight with defenders. Attackers also destroyed some control panel wiring at the plant and set fire to eight vehicles. The altercation caused a suspension of cement production at the facility.

Police detained nine suspects and have established a watch at the Hidalgo plant.

Mexico: GCC recorded consolidated sales of US$207m in the first quarter of 2022, up by 16% year-on-year from first-quarter 2021 levels. US sales growth of 21% contributed to the increase, driven by regional cement volumes growth of 10%. The group's cement volumes in its native Mexico rose by 12%. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the quarter reached US$54.5m, up by 10% year-on-year. Following the results, the company plans to reactivate its on-going share buyback programme.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Enrique Escalante said "GCC is off to an excellent start this year. We are pleased with the results delivered during this quarter and of the way we are overcoming a high inflation environment amid global challenges. One of our top priorities is being extremely vigilant in offsetting cost pressures as we capitalise on market opportunities and focus our efforts in maximising production and terminal outputs. Market trends and full-year backlogs are encouraging for 2022; therefore, we expect to end the year in line with our high-single to double-digit EBITDA growth guidance."

Dominican Republic: Mexico-based Cemex has reopened the second production line at its integrated San Pedro Macoris plant. The decision will add 0.5Mt/yr to the plant’s production capacity bringing its total to 2.5Mt/yr. The decision has been made to support customers in the Caribbean market. Other recent investment in the country by Cemex include new packaging machines, palletisers, hydro combustion, new trucks and tanks.

Jesús González, the president of Cemex South, Central America and the Caribbean said “The reactivation of the production line is a clear example of our commitment to the sustainable development of the Dominican Republic. This investment contributes to the revitalisation of the national economy, promotes exports, reduces the need for imports and supports employment and a more sustainable environment in the country."

Mexico: Increases in raw material prices and energy costs, as a result of high inflation levels, will affect the operating margins of cement companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange in the first quarter of 2022, according to analysts quoted by CE NoticiasFinancieras.

Jacobo Rodríguez, director of Economic Analysis at Black Wallstreet Capital, explained that, "Despite the fact that companies are slow to pass on the increase in their costs to their final products, we will see pressure on their margins in their results in the first quarter of the year and from now on.”

Heriberto Sandoval, investment advisor at Increase Kapital, said “The cement industry is strongly affected by the increase in energy costs and, considering that the high cost pressures worldwide will be longer lasting than originally thought, this will lead to a decrease in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) this year.”

Mexican cement companies recorded a decline in the price of their shares between January and March 2022. Market leader Cemex led the way, with a 23.59% drop in the value of its shares. The second largest drop was seen by GCC, which lost 9.5% of its value. Cementos Moctezuma’s shares also lost 3.05% of their value in the first quarter of 2022.

Mexico: Corporación Moctezuma has appointed Julio Rodríguez Izquierdo as the chair of its board of directors. This follows the resignation of Enrico Buzzi from the post. The change is a planned and periodic rotation of the holder of the role between the company’s two controlling shareholders: Spain-based Cementos Molins and Italy-based Buzzi Unicem. Together, the European cement companies own a 66.7% share of Corporación Moctezuma.

Rodriguez Izquierdo, a 60-year-old Spanish national, is the chief executive officer of Cementos Molins. Prior to becoming the head of Cementos Molins in 2015, he worked for over 30 years at Schneider Electric in a variety of roles before becoming the Executive Vice President Global Operations in 2011.

Mexico: Cemex has published its 2021 Integrated Report. Under the report’s Climate Action section, Cemex recorded a 4.7% year-on-year decrease in its CO₂ emissions per tonne of cementitious material. Alternative fuel (AF) substitution rose to 29%, while its products’ average clinker factor fell to 75%. It was the first company to complete a global roll-out of its reduced-CO₂ cement and concrete range (Vertua). It established Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)-verified well below 2°C 2030 climate action goals and joined the UN’s Race to Zero and the Business Ambition for 1.5°C coalition. It also became a founding member of the World Economic Forum’s First Movers Coalition for zero-carbon economic development.

The year also brought major Sustainability and Circular Economy milestones, including managing 57 times the volume of waste it sent to landfill, positively impacting 25m lives through its Social Impact Strategy and processing 61% of global sales through its Cemex Go digital sales platform. For the second consecutive year, its Net Promotor Score was 68, ‘substantially above’ the construction and engineering industry average.

Mexico: Holcim Mexico has launched ISO14044-compliant full-lifecycle Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its ready-mix concrete range. The company says that the EPDs will help designers and builders to inform their materials selection processes. The Redacción newspaper has reported that data from five cement plants contributed to the declarations.

Concrete and aggregates director Manuel Sirtori congratulated the team for "demonstrating leadership by promoting transparency and reducing emissions in the construction industry."