Displaying items by tag: Sales

Germany: Hazemag has announced that Hazemag Systems will now market the entire product portfolio of Hazemag raw materials processing and mining equipment division Hazemag & EPR. The group says its ‘sales and process know-how’ will now be bundled at a single Düsseldorf location. Hazemag & EPR employs 400 people in serving industries including cement in 40 countries with plants and equipment for raw materials processing.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Cement has posted a profit of US$120m in 2019, up by 13% year-on-year from US$108m in 2018. Mubasher has reported that increased sales offset higher costs, with notable growth in the fourth quarter of 2019 of 15% year-on-year, to US$38.3m from US$33.3m in the last three months of 2018.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has recorded a profit of US$70.9m in 2019, up by 41% from US$50.3m in 2018. This was in spite of a 5.9% year-on-year sales fall to US$660m from US$701m in 2018. The Philippines Star newspaper has reported that a more favourable product mix and the steady contribution of its aggregates unit helped Holcim Philippines to offset the effects of slowing construction activity throughout the year. Holcim Philippines president and CEO John Stull said that the company is ‘well-positioned to deliver sustainable and healthy growth to shareholders and continue support to the country’s development.’

In 2019 Holcim Philippines brought its total production capacity to 10Mt/yr with the completion of upgrades at its integrated Bulacan, Davao and La Union plants. In March 2019 it launched Solido, a blended cement suited to use in road and infrastructure construction.

Ireland: CRH recorded sales of Euro28.3bn in 2019, up by 6% year-on-year from Euro26.7bn in 2018. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 25% year-on-year to Euro4.20bn from Euro3.36bn. The company said that the results were supported by a positive demand backdrop in the Americas and in key regions in Europe. It also set out a new CO₂ emissions roadmap with target of 520kg/t of cement by 2030, a 33% reduction compared to 1990 levels.

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has announced a Euro1.95bn profit in 2019, up by 32% from Euro1.48bn in 2018. The profit was a company record, made possible by ‘lower restructuring costs and financial expenses,’ according to LafargeHolcim CEO Jan Jenisch. Sales were Euro25.1bn, up by 3.1% from Euro24.4bn, ‘driven by good growth in Europe and North America, good price dynamics across all business segments and higher prices in most markets,’ according to Jenisch. “We have achieved all our targets for 2019 and have moved our company to a new level of performance,” he said.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement’s profit in 2019 was US$685m, down by 17% from US$822m in 2018. Sales were US$2.46bn, down by 1.1% year-on-year from US$2.49bn in 2018. “Export sales were affected by the Nigeria-Benin border closure in the second half of 2019. Looking ahead, I expect an increase in volumes in 2020 as we commence clinker exports via shipping from Nigeria,” said Dangote Cement CEO Joe Makoju. The group reported pan-African volume growth to 9.4Mt/yr, noting a 94% growth in Tanzanian volumes, aided by the commencement of operations at a temporary gas power plant in the East African country.

Retiring from the company, Makoju said, “I am proud to have watched Dangote Cement grow from a local producer back in 2007 to a major force in global cement production. Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria's dependence on imported cement.” He wished his successor Michel Puchercos all the best in his new role.

Australia: Adelaide Brighton’s profit in 2019 was US$31.1m, down by 74% from US$122m in 2018. Sales were down by 7% to US$997m from US$1.07bn. Adelaide Brighton chairman Raymond Barro explained that ‘increased competition and softer demand for construction materials’ locally impacted revenue and earnings. He said that ‘cost pressures across sea freight, transport and raw materials’ caused the dive in profit.

Kenya: East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has recorded losses of US$16.2m in 2019, up by 0.6% from US$16.1m in 2018, in spite of sales growth over the period of 8.0% year-on-year to US$14.7 from US$13.6m. Reuters has reported that the company will not be paying its shareholders.

Germany: Siemens subsidiary Flender, which supplies couplings and gearboxes to the cement industry, has signed a partnership agreement for technological solutions with digital drive specialist Currax. The partnership aims to bring a comprehensive increase in efficiency to Flender’s business and a high level of flexibility for customers. Currax executive director Daniel Aßman said, “From customer acquisition to sales, from implementation to support, Currax is the contact for all matters relating to the Flender portfolio.”

Colombia: In 2019 Grupo Argos subsidiary Cementos Argos’ sales rose by 11% year-on-year to US$2.8bn from US$2.5bn in 2018 and its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 14% year-on-year to US$0.5bn from US$0.4bn in 2018. Cement dispatches rose by 0.6% to 16Mt. In the US, its main market, the company sold 6.3Mt of cement, up by 9.5% from 5.8Mt in 2018.

Argos CEO Juan Estaban Calle praised the company’s successes in 2019, such as the completion of its Thermally Activated Clays (TAC) project at its 1.4Mt/yr integrated Cementos Rioclaro plant in Colombia. “This allows for production and distribution of green cement with a greatly reduced clinker factor, 38% lower CO₂ emissions and 30% of the energy consumption of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) production,” he said.