Displaying items by tag: Terminal

For those not following the news in Nigeria, a nationwide row has broken out about the cost of cement in the country. Two of the three main local producers have been forced to publicly defend their pricing. Alongside this, the Senate of Nigeria has implored the federal government to encourage further local investment in cement production with the goal of keeping the end price down.

The current debacle started to take form in the autumn of 2020 when the price of cement leapt up by 35%. Builders and those immediately affected started complaining then but the argument really heated up in April 2021 when the local press started comparing the price of cement in Nigeria unfavourably against neighbouring countries. Dangote Cement, one of Africa’s largest cement producing companies and a Nigerian-based one at that, immediately defended itself by pointing out that its ex-factory price was the same or lower than in other African countries. It added that it could not control the price of cement between its factory and the end-consumer with dealers and middlemen benefiting from the gap. A week later the Senate of Nigeria intervened with its members discussing the issue in relation to a bill intended to liberalise the sector. This week, BUA Cement said publicly that it had no plans to raise the ex-factory price of its cement at the present time or in the future, “…barring any material, unforeseen circumstances.”

The roots of the current crisis go back to the mid-2010s when Nigeria declared itself ‘self-sufficient’ in cement after building up its domestic production capacity. At the same time it discouraged imports and embraced exports. Today, the country’s cement production capacity is around 49Mt/yr and annual demand is around 21Mt. This self-sufficiency path reached one milestone for Dangote Cement in 2020 with clinker exports starting from its Apapa terminal and the commissioning of its Onne Export Terminal in Port Harcourt. Under the old narrative for the sector this was a moment for congratulation. Suddenly though, instead of being seen as the saviour of the industry, members of the legislature were asking whether it was a good thing for Dangote Cement to hold a 60% share of the local market with most of the rest shared between Lafarge Africa and BUA Cement.

The price row has seen Dangote Cement promptly suspend exports from those new terminals. It also said it had reactivated its 4.5Mt/yr Gboko plant in Benue State, which was reportedly mothballed in 2018. It is worth noting here that the Gboko plant was part of that national capacity total above despite being mothballed until fairly recently. Aside from the middleman argument, the producer said that its production costs had risen over the past 15 months due to negative currency effects but that it hadn’t increased its ex-factory prices since December 2019.

A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria in the north-east of the country revealed all sorts of speculation about why the price was so high but few facts. Some of the opinions expressed included: the coronavirus outbreak; low production rates at the plants; market middlemen; and transport costs. What is clearer is that the country’s cement production capacity is more than double that of its demand. On paper at least the nation should be able to satisfy its own needs and then export the same again with plenty spare. Yet somehow this isn’t happening. If the government really believes in self-sufficiency it may be time to take another look at the cement sector, the challenges it faces and the needs of the end consumers.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement says that the price of cement from its plants in Nigeria is the same as from plants in other countries in Africa or cheaper. The cement producer made the announcement in response to local media reports that its prices were allegedly lower in Ghana or Zambia, according to the Vanguard newspaper. It added that it had control over its ex-factory prices but that it could not set the end market price.

Dangote Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development and Capital Projects Devakumar Edwin explained that Dangote Cement has a 60% share of the local cement market at present. Demand for cement has risen following the coronavirus pandemic and the company has had to suspend exports from its recently commissioned export terminals in order to meet local demand. He added that it has also reactivated its 4.5Mt/yr Gboko plant in Benue State, which was closed in 2018, to cope with the situation.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement has recorded sales of US$2.52bn in 2020, up by 16% year-on-year from US$2.18bn in 2019. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 21% to US$1.17bn from US$965m. Total cement sales volumes rose by 8% to 25.7Mt from 23.7Mt and Nigerian cement sales rose by 13% to 15.9Mt from 14.1Mt. Highlights for the year included the start of clinker exports from the Apapa terminal and the commissioning of the Onne cement terminal in Nigeria. The group also commissioned a gas power plant in Tanzania.

Chief executive officer Michel Puchercos said, “Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 was a record year for Dangote Cement across the board. Several firsts made 2020 a productive year such as our maiden clinker shipment, maiden bond issuance and successful buyback programme. We increased our capacity by 3Mt/yr in Nigeria, commissioned our two export terminals and commissioned our gas power plant in Tanzania. All this was achieved whilst we focused on protecting our people, customers, and communities from the impact of the pandemic.”

France: Vicat recorded full-year consolidated sales of Euro2.81bn in 2020, up by 2% year-on-year from Euro2.74bn in 2019. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6% to Euro557m from Euro526m. Consolidated net income rose by 8% to Euro172m from Euro160m.

The group said that organic sales were ‘strong,’ rising in all regions except in France, by 6% in total. It attributed the decline to a near-total shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak in mid-March 2020, which lifted incrementally throughout the first half of the year. Vicat France’s cement business recovered ‘robustly’ in the second half of 2020, resulting in an operational sales increase of 3% for the year. Full stoppages of activity lasted for 33 days in India and for 30 days in Italy. Despite these challenges, business growth, cost-cutting and lower energy costs drove earnings growth, with ‘very sharp improvements’ recorded in the Americas and in Asia. Additionally, the ramp-up of a new grinding plant in Mali and production performance improvements in Senegal supported a ‘significant’ earnings increase in Africa.

Chair and chief executive officerGuy Sidos said, “Thanks to our employees’ tremendous efforts and commitment, the Vicat group strengthened its position amid the unprecedented current pandemic situation. Our resilience and flexibility allowed us to make organisational changes in order to reconcile our competing imperatives of keeping everyone safe and healthy, unlocking savings and making rapid adjustments, such as relocating our Paris head office to L’Isle d’Abeau in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Likewise, we made improvements to Vicat’s governance and stepped up our environmental and digital transformation programmes. Given the strength of our cash generation, we were able to resume key productivity investment programmes for the future. Despite the adversity we faced, our teams across all our various regions successfully delivered higher production efficiency levels and met market demand cost-effectively, paving the way for a solid increase in the Vicat group’s results.”

In 2021, the group plans to expand cement production and invest in new cement terminals in India and to continue with the upgrade of its Ragland cement plant in the US. It also says that it will ramp up projects aimed at meeting its carbon footprint reduction targets. The group expects its earnings to rise at constant scope and exchange rates over the full year.

France: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge France plans to stop cement production at its integrated Contes cement plant in Alpes-Maritimes department and convert the site into a terminal instead. France Bleu radio has reported that the company has announced the loss of 65 jobs. The company promised to take measures to avoid forced redundancies, including offering positions at other Lafarge France sites and help with retraining. The union representing workers at the plant says that the total number of jobs at risk is 300. The producer said that its Bouc-Bel-Air (La Malle) integrated cement plant in Bouches-du-Rhône department near Marseille will provide jobs for truck drivers and subcontractors. It said, “This will require additional industrial maintenance and increase logistics needs. These jobs are not threatened, they should even develop."

Six workers will stay on at the Contes facility after the end of cement production.

Kuwait/Germany: HeidelbergCement has detailed the reasons behind the sale of its 51% stake in Hilal Cement, which has been led by HeidelbergCement subsidiary Suez Cement since 2016. The group said that the divestment represents the first step in a ‘comprehensive portfolio optimisation’ in line with its Beyond 2020 strategy.

Chief executive officer Dominik von Achten said, “We are pleased with the closing of the transaction in Kuwait.” He continued, “The focus of our portfolio management is the simplification of country portfolios and a prioritisation of the strongest market positions.”

Hilal Cement operates two cement terminals and four ready-mix plants.

Spain: LafargeHolcim has successfully demolished a 78.5m high silo at its Los Barrios Port Terminal in the Port of Algeciras. The company is currently dismantling its unit at the port. A specialised company was hired by the cement producer to conduct the operation following a survey.

US: The Maui Planning Commission has approved Hawaiian Cement’s final environmental assessment as part of its plan to move its Kahului Harbour cement terminal to an adjacent facility. The application will now move to the state Office of Environmental Quality Control for a 30 day period before the permitting process can continue, according to the Maui News newspaper. The relocation will see the erection of two new silos, with a total capacity of 6000t.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has built a new distribution centre in Campos Novos, Santa Catarina. When it opens in January 2021, the facility will supply a ‘complete portfolio for the civil construction market’ in Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. It will receive goods from six cement and building materials plants in the company’s South Brazil region.

Regional commercial general manager Tony Noritake said, “We invested in this distribution centre to better meet customer demand in the South, expand our presence and optimise costs."

Iceland: HeildelbergCement subsidiary Sementsverksmidjan has apologised for an incident which caused cement dust to be released from a silo at its terminal in Akranes. An overflow during loading caused the dust to settle on nearby houses. The company collaborated with fire services, utilities companies and residents to tidy up.

The company said, “The incident yesterday was an accident which did not comply with the policy and will of the company or its owners. The company therefore apologises to all those who suffered inconvenience and will do everything in its power to ensure that accidents of this kind do not recur.”