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Displaying items by tag: Titan
Egyptian cement producers fight for ‘king’ coal
07 May 2014Egypt's cement producers have taken their fight to use coal to the opposition in recent weeks. Producers like Suez Cement and Titan have started pushing the benefits of using coal including its place as an international mainstay and highlighting the potential savings for the state.
In March 2014 the Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Abdel Nour announced that cement companies could start using coal from September 2014. However, with pressure from environmental activists and even the Minister of Environment voicing disapproval for coal this seems to be a long way off. Fuel issues continue to bedevil Egyptian cement producers as reports emerged this week that gas supplies to 10 cement plants were cut. The plants, which represent 70% of the country's production base, have been forced to close temporarily. Egypt is one of the largest non-OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil producers in Africa and the second largest dry natural gas producer on the continent.
The Egyptian government has been planning a reduction in the use of natural gas by industry. Yet the scale of the reduction has shifted. At first the Ministry of Petroleum intended to reduce supplies to cement plants by 35% in January and February 2014. Reportedly the price of cement then shot up by 30% in March 2014 to offset the rise in energy prices. Then the gas was cut completely, leading to the shutdowns.
In response Egyptian cement producers are investing in converting to using coal. This week Suez Cement announced a planned investment of US$40m to convert two of its four plants to use coal instead of natural gas subject to approval from the Ministry of Environment. Back in November 2013 Suez Cement announced similar plans to spend US$72.5m on converting its plants for coal. Similarly, Lafarge's preparations to use petcoke were also delayed by the ministry in February 2014.
Users of Egypt's gas supplies are caught between the reform of energy subsidies, a shortage in gas supplies and an increase in local demand. Industrial users like cement plants are stuck in a queue behind export markets and power plants. In addition international events such as the political instability in Ukraine might potentially rock the Egyptian gas market if Russian supplies were affected. The European markets would then start scrambling to secure their gas from other places such as Egypt.
In this situation, moving to the use of imported coal makes sense for cement producers. Yet groups like the 'Egyptians Against Coal' campaign argue that the issue is also about Egypt's sovereignty over its energy sources, not just pollution. Despite the optimism of the activists it seems unlikely that they can resist market pressures for long, especially with producers such as Suez Cement and the Arabian Cement Company announcing plans for increased alternative fuels substitution rates alongside their bigger plans for coal. Whether this is more than a sop remains to be seen.
Once dubbed 'King Coal' for its leading place in British industry before the second half of the 20th Century, coal is looking likely to take the crown as the fuel of choice in the Egyptian cement industry. How long it retains its crown though depends on the on-going competition between coal and gas use around the world.
US: Titan America has announced that it has recently formed ST Equipment & Technology LLC (STET), in order to further expand the development of its separation technology in fly ash and mineral applications worldwide. STET will be based in Needham, Massachussetts, US.
Mike Allen, who recently joined the Titan family of businesses, will serve as STET's President. His experience spans 30 years in international mining and minerals equipment and operations, most recently as Komatsu America Corp's Vice President of International Sales. He reports to current Titan America CEO, Aris Papadopoulos, who will become STET's Executive Chairman on 1 August 2014.
Papadopoulos announces retirement from Titan America
16 April 2014US: Titan Group has announced that after 20 years at the helm of Titan America, Aris Papadopoulos will retire from the position of CEO, effective 1 August 2014. According to a release, he will become Executive Chairman of ST Equipment & Technologies (STET), reporting to the Group CEO and also serve as an advisor.
The company noted that, commencing with a 1994 joint venture with Roanoke Cement, Papadopoulos led Titan America through a growth trajectory that included the acquisition of Tarmac America and Separation Technologies, modernising the company's two cement plants, numerous operational expansions and multiple concrete acquisitions.
"During Aris' tenure, Titan America grew from a cement joint-venture in Roanoke, Virginia, to the pre-eminent East Coast construction materials producer," said Dimitri Papalexopoulos, CEO of Titan Group. "Aris, more than anyone else, has shaped Titan America over two decades."
Bill Zarkalis, Group CFO since 2010, will succeed Papadopoulos. Zarkalis joined the Group in 2008 as Director of Business Development. He previously held executive positions at Dow Chemical. As CEO-designate, he will work closely with Papadopoulos to ensure a smooth transition. Michael Colakides will become Group CFO, effective 16 May 2014. Colakides recently returned to the Group as Senior Strategy Advisor after more than a decade in several banking industry executive roles.
Titan operating results mark first improvement in seven years
28 February 2014Greece: Titan has reported that its turnover in 2013 rose by 4% year-on-year to Euro1.18bn, up from Euro1.13bn in 2012. Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 0.1% to Euro196m. This is the first time the construction materials group has reported improved operating results in seven years. Titan's net loss in 2013 increased to Euro36m from Euro24.5m in 2012. Titan attributed the pick-up on the recovery of the housing market in the US, resilient demand in Egypt and a general focus on exports.
By region, Titan noted that domestic cement demand in Greece continued to decline but at a slower pace than previous years, with demand now at 20% of 2006 levels. Its cement plants in Greece are dependent on exports for their viability. In the Group's Greece and Western Europe region, turnover rose by 4% to Euro250m and operating profit fell by 57% to Euro14m.
In North America, Titan's turnover rose by 11% to Euro411m and its operating profit rose to Euro32m. In its Southeastern Europe region, turnover fell by 4% to Euro215m and operating profit fell slightly by 2% to Euro63m. In its Eastern Mediterranean region, turnover rose by 1% to Euro300m and operating profit fell by 7% to Euro87m.
In its outlook for 2014, Titan anticipated cement demand in Greece to increase for the first time since 2006 due to infrastructure spending. Cement consumption in the USA is expected to grow, particularly in the south-east of the country where the majority of Titan's US operations are situated. Political and economic risks make Titan cautious in its outlook for Turkey and Egypt, particularly due to fuel shortages in the latter country.
EPA and industry fail to settle waste unit risk policy fight
22 January 2014US: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry groups including cement producers have failed to settle a permit dispute that is testing whether the agency has the authority to require operators of hazardous waste combustion units to conduct risk assessments that can be used to strengthen emissions limits for mercury and other pollutants when renewing the facilities' existing waste and air permits. Negotiations stalled during a meeting in November 2013 between EPA lawyers and cement kiln operators at EPA's Region V offices, according to an 8 January 2014 status report the parties filed with the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Litigation will continue on 20 February 2014.
The case began on 8 July 2013 when ESSROC Cement petitioned the EAB to review Region V's decision requiring a site-specific risk assessments (SSRA) at ESSROC's hazardous waste combustor facility in Logansport, Indiana, during the 2012 renewal of the facility's RCRA permit. After the facility conducted the SSRA, Region V imposed a restrictive annual mercury feed rate limit, which ESSROC said, "goes far beyond what is necessary to protect human health and the environment."
The case marks a new test for the risk assessment requirements EPA attached to its 2005 regulations governing hazardous waste combustion facilities that emit air pollutants, including cement kilns. The 2005 regulations set strict new maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the combustion facilities that burn the hazardous waste. The rule also integrated the MACT standards with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements so that facilities must comply with the MACT standards to be eligible for RCRA permits.
PCA stands by brighter US cement future
18 September 2013US cement consumption may have disappointed some in the first quarter of 2013 but solid growth lies ahead, according to the Portland Cement Association (PCA). Just how solid that growth will be remains open to interpretation.
PCA chief economist Ed Sullivan forecast 8% growth in cement consumption at the start of 2013. Now's its been halved to just 4%. Yet he's standing by the hint of good news ahead, upping the growth from 2014 to 9.7%.
Figures from the major US cement producers present a mixed picture. The major multinational cement producers mostly suffered from the weather in early 2013. Lafarge saw its cement sales in North America drop by 23% year-on-year for the first half of 2013 to 4.4Mt from 5.7Mt in the same period of 2012. Cemex's cement sales in the US rose by 3% but no specific figures were released. Holcim's cement sales in North America fell by 7% to 5Mt from 5.4Mt. HeidelbergCement's cement sales in the North America grew by 5% to 5.7Mt from 5.4Mt.
Of the rest, Texas Industries reported a rise in cement shipments of 29% to 2.23Mt from 1.73Mt for the six months to the 31 May 2013. Titan saw sales in the US rise by 10% to US$258m.
Preliminary United States Geological Survey data for June 2013 suggests that the increase in portland and blended cement shipments in the US slowed in the first half of 2013. In 2011 32.1Mt were shipped, in 2012 37.0Mt were shipped and in 2013 37.2Mt were shipped.
Meanwhile the construction figures US Department of Commerce mostly suggested growth but not without the odd jitter. Construction spending fell slightly in June 2013. Total construction spending adjusted seasonally fell by 0.4% to US$869bn due to a fall in non-residential construction. Since then though the July 2013 figure hit US$901bn, the highest since June 2009.
Accordingly, in his forecast Sullivan pins his hopes on the residential sector in the near term. It has seen consistent growth since October 2012. However other industry commentators, like the American Institue of Architects, have focused on poor growth in non-residential construction.
Let's hope Sullivan's got it right.
Roanoke Cement certified as Exemplary Environmental Enterprise
11 September 2013US: Roanoke Cement Company has been accepted as an Exemplary Environmental Enterprise within the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program (VEEP). VEEP was established to encourage superior environmental performance by encouraging organisations within the state of Virginia, that have strong, established environmental records, to surpass their own performance levels.
Titan increases sales in Q2
07 August 2013Greece: Titan Cement has increased its sales year-on-year in the second quarter of 2013 by 2% to Euro329m from Euro323m. The Greek-based multinational cement producer said that recovery in the US and 'resilient' demand in Egypt had compensated for continued decline in the Greek market.
Despite the increase in sales net profit fell by 81% to Euro5.3m from Euro27.8m. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 12.6% to Euro67.9m from Euro77.7m. Overall for the half-year to 30 June 2013, sales rose by 4.4% to Euro572m and EBITDA fell by 17.8% to Euro92.2m.
In Greece demand for cement continued to decline with domestic cement sales at around just a sixth of Titan's cement production capacity. In the US, the rebound of the housing market, particularly in Florida, has had a positive effect on demand for building materials. In south-eastern Europe demand for building materials remained low and profit margins 'shrank' due to competition. In Egypt, despite political instability and problems with production, demand remained stable and Titan was able to increase sales by importing clinker. In Turkey, construction activity grew, both in the private and public sectors, as did exports.
In its outlook Titan reflected upon the mixed fortunes of its major production territories, with continued growth expected for the US, instability in Egypt and continued gloom in Europe.
Titan’s net loss grows to Euro27.1m in Q1
15 May 2013Greece: Titan Cement has reported a net loss of Euro27.1m for the first three months of 2013, an increase from a net loss of Euro19.4m year-on-year. The Greek cement producer pointed out in a statement that Greece's 'unparalleled' slump in building activity had continued and that there were weak economies in many other countries where it operates.
Titan's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 29.4% to Euro24.3m from Euro34.4m. Turnover fell to Euro243m from Euro225m.
In its outlook for the remainder of 2013, Titan anticipated that demand would continue to decline in Greece for the first half of 2013. Markets in southeast Europe will continue to be affected by the Euro-zone crisis with demand for building materials not expected to recover substantially in 2013. In Egypt, political and economic woes appear to be escalating and uncertainty is high. The severe and extended winter period in 2013 across the Balkans, Turkey and Greece significantly affected building activity. Titan said that building activity in the US has entered the recovery phase, particularly as a result of the strong momentum of the housing market, and demand for building materials is growing substantially.
Titan posts Euro24.5m loss in 2012
06 March 2013Greece: Titan Group has reported a net loss of Euro24.5m for 2012. In 2011 it reported a net profit after tax and minority interests of Euro11m. This is the first time Titan has posted a loss since 1994 according to Reuters data. The Greek cement producer attributed the loss to the collapse of building activity in Greece, as well as the slowdown in Southeastern European markets, which suffered the spill-over effects of the Eurozone crisis.
Titan posted an increase of turnover of 3.6% to Euro1.13bn in 2012 from Euro1.09bn in 2011. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 19.8% to Euro196m from Euro244m.
By region, Titan estimates that demand for cement in Greece has fallen to below 25% of the levels recorded in 2006. Turnover fell by 11% to Euro240m and EBITDA fell by 9% to Euro32m. Exports doubled in 2012 though. In Southeastern Europe, turnover declined by 7% to Euro255m and EBITDA fell by 26% to Euro64m.
In the Eastern Mediterranean region, which comprises Egypt and Turkey, turnover increased by 7% to Euro296m. EBITDA fell by 26% to Euro94m. The Group noted that in 2012 'despite the prevailing political uncertainty' cement consumption reached new highs in Egypt. Operating margins, however, were adversely affected by the considerable increase in the cost of natural gas and electrical power. In the US activity in the construction sector increased. Turnover in the USA rose by 22% to Euro369m and EBITDA rose to Euro6m, from a Euro6m loss in 2011.
In its outlook for 2013 Titan expects 'another challenging year' with continued poor performance and scope for further decline in Greece and Southeastern Europe. The growing cost of production in Egypt due to political and economic issues is anticipated to negatively affect results. Conditions should remain positive in Turkey and the US.