Displaying items by tag: Output
Update on China, August 2022
31 August 2022The larger cement producers in China have published their half-year financial results and the numbers are looking grim. Starting with data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, cement output in the country fell by 14.5% year-on-year to 979Mt in the first half of 2022 from 1.14Bnt in the same period in 2021. This is the lowest first half output figure since 2012. The decline on a monthly basis started in May 2021 and has carried on consistently since then. Rolling cumulative annual output hit a low of 2.18Bnt in July 2022, the lowest figure since at least the start of 2019 and well before the coronavirus pandemic started.
Graph 1: Cement output in China, 2018 to 2022. Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China.
The financial figures from the cement producers have mostly followed this trend. Of the companies covered here, Anhui Conch’s drop in sales revenue was the most distinct at 30% year-on-year to US$8.14bn. However, Jidong Cement actually managed to increase its revenue and Huaxin Cement’s decrease was fairly small, possibly due to its growing stable of overseas projects. None of these companies could avoid falling cement and clinkers sales volumes though. Again, Anhui Conch is the outlier here with a larger fall in sales volumes proportionally at nearly 40% compared to around 20% for the rest. Chen Bolin, the deputy secretary-general of China Cement Association (CCA), told the 21st Century Business Herald newspaper that of the 20 or so listed cement companies that have published their half-year reports by the end of August 2022, more than half had reported falling sales revenue and net profit and only one company had managed to increase its net profit.
Graph 2: Sales revenue from selected Chinese cement producers. Source: Company financial reports. Note: Cement revenue shown only for CNBM & Taiwan Cement.
Graph 3: Sales volumes of cement and clinker from selected Chinese cement producers. Source: Company financial reports.
The financial reports from the Chinese cement companies detailed here have been fairly light on the reasons for the current state of the sector. Repeated coronavirus outbreaks, instability in the real estate market, a lack of funding for infrastructure projects, growing energy and raw materials costs, pressure on prices and a generally weak economy have all been blamed for the situation. Media channels outside of China have continued to scan the country’s real estate sector for signs of collapse following Evergrande’s problems in 2021. However Chen Bolin diplomatically held back by describing the real estate market as not yet stabilised and a drag on cement demand. Instead he hoped that large-scale infrastructure projects would offer some form of relief.
One last point to note, that both the CCA has made and could be seen in some of the company reports, is that some of the Chinese cement companies are already starting to diversify their businesses. This is in parallel to what some of the larger western-based multinational cement producers have also been doing in recent years with forays into concrete, light building materials and construction chemicals. CNBM already has large concrete, light building materials and engineering subsidiaries. However, Huaxin Cement and Anhui Conch have also started to branch out recently into aggregates, concrete and new energy generation, in the case of the latter company. Things may get worse before they get better, especially depending when or if the Chinese government decides to act on the real estate market. However, whatever kind of adjustment the cement sector may face, there are some signs present already of what some of the companies may do next.
China: Cement output fell by 12% year-on-year to 387Mt in the first quarter of 2022. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also shows that cement output volumes fell by 5.6% year-on-year to 187Mt in March 2022, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The China Cement Association has blamed this on the latest local coronavirus wave, limited construction project funds and poor weather.
Saudi cement output remains stable in 2021
24 January 2022Saudi Arabia: Cement output rose slightly to 53.7Mt in 2021 from 534Mt in 2021. Clinker output increased by 12% year-on-year to 55.1Mt from 49.2Mt. Cement exports fell by 32% to 1.44Mt from 2.13Mt but clinker exports grew by 50% to 6.73Mt from 4.50Mt. Saudi Cement remained the country’s largest clinker export but exports from Yanbu Cement and Arabian Cement grew sharply.
Russia: Eurocement Group has reported that it has produced more than 11.5Mt of cement in the first six months of 2013, a year-on-year rise of 5%, in its 16 cement plants in Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Cement shipments have increased by 7% in the period.
The Russian-based cement producer announced plans to upgrade all of its production facilities to make cement using a dry-process by 2018. Currently only 25% of its plants use the dry process. Eurocement also plans to increase its annual cement production capacity by 4Mt/yr.
According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, half of Russia's regions are not meeting housing construction targets due to a lack of building materials. The country needs more than 20 new cement factories, according the government, but companies are refusing to build new plants due to a lack of potential returns on investment. Eurocement responded to the claims by saying that it is cheaper to modernise existing plants.
China's cement output rises 9.7% in H1
17 July 2013China: China's cement output has increased by 9.7% year-on-year to 1.1Bt for the first half of 2013, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In June 2013 cement output increased by 8.8% year-on-year to 228Mt.
China cement output grows 8.2% to 417Mt in Q1
15 April 2013China: Output of cement in China reached 417Mt in the first quarter of 2013, a rise of 8.2% year-on-year according to data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Cement output in March 2013 grew by 6.9% year-on-year to 187Mt.
In a separate formal announcement China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology informed the provinces that 73.5Mt of obsolete cement production capacity will be eliminated in 2013.
Iskitimtsement output rises 23.1%
03 October 2012Russia: RATM Holding's Iskitimcement Cement Plant has reported a rise in its output by 23.1% year-on-year to 1.12Mt for January to September 2012. Deliveries rose by 28.9% to 1.29Mt in the same period.
In July to September 2012 Iskitimtsement produced 535,000t of cement and sold 579,369t. In September 2012 the company's output reached 168,000t and sales were 187,434t. Iskitimtsement has said that it plans to boost 2012 production by 9.4% year-on-year to 1.4Mt/yr.
Nationally, cement production in Russia to expected to reach 61Mt in 2012 as the construction industry continues to drive growth. During the first half of 2012, construction output managed to maintain a growth pace above that of the gross domestic product (GDP), recording a 5.4% expansion in year-on-year terms while GDP managed to expand by only 4.5% for the same period. At the same time, the production of cement in Russia totalled nearly 27.8Mt in the first half of 2012, representing a 14.1% annual increase. The sector is expected to further intensify in the near future due to large investments by public authorities in construction projects.
UK construction slows in January 2012
07 February 2012UK: A report by Markit/CIPS has shown that the UK construction industry as a whole experienced a slow down in January 2012. Jason Heath, a construction specialist at Bibby Financial Services said, "The latest Markit/CIPS survey highlighted that the construction sector slowed down in January 2012. Although the numbers indicate a fall in productivity, the survey also revealed that construction managers and owners are feeling optimistic for the first time in eight months."
"This optimism is perhaps down to construction firms having a particularly successful December 2011, potentially due to milder weather conditions and infrastructure projects commencing, which surprised economists who had predicted a decline towards the end of 2011," he continued. "In order to retain this positive outlook, the government needs to make funding the construction industry a priority by making it more accessible to firms so this sector can continue to provide a vital contribution to the UK economy," concluded Heath.
Vietnamese output up on the year
27 June 2011Vietnam: According to figures released by the government's General Statistics Office, cement producers in Vietnam are estimated to have made 18.7Mt of cement in the first four months of 2011, a year-on-year increase of 11.5%. In April 2011 the country's cement output was estimated at 5.5Mt, up by 12.1% on the year.