Displaying items by tag: growth

Pakistan: Fauji Cement recorded sales of US$287m in the 2024 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2024. This corresponds to year-on-year growth of 18% from US$244m in the previous financial year. The company’s operating costs rose by 14% to US$195m. Nonetheless, it succeeded in growing its net profit by 10%, to US$29.5m.

India: Cement volumes in India are projected to rise by 7-8% year-on-year in the 2025 financial year, driven by sustained demand from the infrastructure and housing sectors. This forecast is supported by the government's focus on infrastructure projects, sanction of additional houses and industrial capital expenditure, according to a report by the credit rating agency ICRA.

The Indo-Asian News Service reports that capacity addition in the cement industry is estimated at 63-70Mt between FY25 and FY26, with approximately 33-35Mt expected in FY25 alone. The capacity utilisation is expected to rise to 71% in FY25 from 70% in FY24, backed by higher cement volumes.

India: Adani Group plans to invest US$15.7bn in the current, 2025 financial year. The investments will support Adani Group’s expansion and diversification across various sectors, including cement. The group plans to reach 140Mt/yr in cement production capacity by the end of the 2028 financial year. The 2025 financial year will end on 31 March 2025.

Brazil: Cement sales in April 2024 totalled 5.1Mt, up by 12% year-on-year. Compared to March 2024, sales rose by 4%, as reported by the National Cement Industry Union (SNIC). April 2024 sales have increased following a forecasted rise despite earlier climate-related impacts.

President of SNIC, Paulo Camillo Penna, said "After two consecutive years of falling sales and idle capacity of around 35%, the Brazilian cement industry hopes to reverse this performance, influenced by progress in housing and infrastructure projects. The sector is betting on the growing use of cement and concrete in road and urban paving, as municipalities and states such as Santa Catarina, Paraná, Goiás, Maranhão, Ceará, São Paulo and the Federal District are leading the way in the use of these inputs."

Denmark: M&J Recycling has appointed René Normann Christensen as its new CEO, effective immediately. Christensen brings extensive leadership from previous CEO roles at Kohberg Bakery Group, engineering firm Glunz & Jensen and circular food packaging producer Plus Pack. He has a degree in Finance from Syddansk Universitet.

M&J Recycling says that Normann Christensen’s appointment marks a strategic step towards the company's next growth phase. It thanked previous CEO Uffe Hansen for his ‘tremendous job’ in building a new, resilient organisation, ready for future growth.

ChairCarsten Knudsen said “After a successful carve out from Metso in 2021, M&J Recycling has now reached a point on the growth journey where it is necessary to change focus and increase momentum. There is a significant global potential for M&J’s industrial waste shredders, and I am confident that René Normann Christensen will, as the new CEO, strengthen the organisation and take M&J Recycling to the next level.”

Pakistan: Thatta Cement’s sales were US$19.6m in the nine-month period up to 31 March 2024, up by 38% from nine-month levels in the previous financial year. The producer’s cost of sales climbed by 12% to US$14.3m. Thatta Cement succeeded in raising its profit by a factor of eight to US$2.64m.

Switzerland: Holcim recorded net sales of €5.71bn in the first quarter of 2024, down by 2% year-on-year from €5.85bn in the first quarter of 2023. Nonetheless, recurring earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) grew by 8% to €543m from €503m. The group noted continuing profitable growth. Its Solutions & Products unit raised roofing sales by 67% in local currencies, including 38% organic growth. The unit also acquired Germany-based advanced green roofing systems producer ZinCo and Argentina-based precast and pre-stressed concrete construction systems producer Tensolite. Additionally, Holcim closed three separate acquisitions in the ready-mix concrete, aggregates and construction-demolition materials segments.

In North America, Holcim grew its recurring EBIT by 3.9% in local currency, and anticipates continuing growth in 2024. In its Latin America region, the group noted a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects and increased nearshoring in Mexico. Europe yielded double-digit recurring EBIT growth, while Asia, Middle East & Africa remained profitable in local currency terms.

Changes are underway in South Asia’s second largest cement sector, with two legal developments that affect the industry set in motion in the past week. At a national level, the Competition Commission of Pakistan recommended that the government require cement producers to include production and expiry dates on the labels of bagged cement. Meanwhile, in Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, a new law tightened procedures around the establishment and expansion of cement plants. At the same time, the country’s cement producers began to publish their financial results for the first nine months of the 2024 financial year (FY2024).

During the nine-month period up to 31 March 2024, the Pakistani cement industry sold 34.5Mt of cement, up by 3% year-on-year. Producers have responded to the growth with capacity expansions, including the launch of the new 1.3Mt/yr Line 3 of Attock Cement’s Hub cement plant in Balochistan on 17 April 2023. China-based contractor Hefei Cement Research & Design executed the project, including installation of a Loesche LM 56.3+3 CS vertical roller mill, giving the Hub plant a new, expanded capacity of 3Mt/yr.

Pressure has eased on the operating costs of Pakistani cement production, as inflation slowed and the country received a new government in March 2024, following political unrest in 2022 and 2023. Coal prices also settled back to 2019 levels, after prolonged agitation. Pakistan Today News reported the value of future coal supply contracts as US$93/t for June 2024, down by 2% over six months from US$95/t for January 2024.

Nonetheless, cost optimisation remained a ‘strong focus’ in the growth strategy of Fauji Cement, which switched to using local and Afghan coal at its plants during the past nine months. Its reliance on captive power rose to 60% of consumption, thanks to its commissioning of new waste heat recovery and solar power capacity. During the first nine months of FY2024, the company’s year-on-year sales growth of 14% narrowly offset cost growth of 13%, leaving it with net profit growth of 1%.

Looking more closely, the latest sales data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) shows a stark divergence within cement producers’ markets. While exports recorded 68% year-on-year growth to 5.1Mt, domestic sales fell, by 4% to 29.4Mt. The association further breaks down Pakistani cement sales data into South Pakistan (Balochistan and Sindh) and North Pakistan (all other regions). Domestic sales dropped most sharply in South Pakistan, by 6% to 5.16Mt. In the North, they dropped by 3% to 24.2Mt. Part of the reason was a high base of comparison, following flooding-related reconstruction work nationally during the 2023 financial year. Meanwhile, the government finished rolling out track-and-trace on all cement despatches during the opening months of the current financial year, and commenced the implementation of axle load requirements for cement trucks. APCMA flagged both policies as potentially disruptive to its members’ domestic deliveries, amid a strong infrastructure project pipeline.

Pakistani producers suffer from overcapacity, but have established themselves as an important force in the global export market. They continue to locate new markets, including the UK in January 2024. Lucky Cement was among leading exporters overall, with a large share of its orders originating from Africa.

On 17 April 2024, the government of Punjab province set up a committee to assess new proposed cement projects, with the ultimate goal of conserving water. Falling water tables are considered a significant economic threat in agricultural Punjab. Besides completing an inspection by the new committee, proposed projects must also secure clearance from six different provincial government departments and the local government. While acknowledging the necessity of the cement industry, the government insisted that it will take legal action against any cement plant that exceeds water allowances.

Pakistan’s cement plants have grown in anticipation of a local market boom. Without this strong core of sales, underutilisation will remain troublesome, especially in North Pakistan where exposure is highest. At the same time, APCMA has given expression to the perceived lack of support affecting production and distribution. For an industry with expansionist aims, new restrictions on its growth and operations can feel like an existential menace.

Bolivia: National cement production reached a record 4Mt in 2023, despite a noted decline in exports, according to the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE). Santa Cruz contributed 27.4% to the total cement output, followed closely by La Paz with 26.8%, and Chuquisaca at 18.3%. According to Noticias Financieras News, this output is largely due to investments by cement companies in Santa Cruz, such as Itacamba's US$220m investment in a new plant in 2016, which has a production capacity of 870,000t/yr. Other firms like Soboce and Fancesa have also invested in the region. The construction industry in Santa Cruz grew by 3% in 2023, although this was a decrease in growth rate compared to previous years.

Russia: Cement consumption in Russia has increased for 13 consecutive months, according to Darya Martynkina, executive director of the Soyuzcement union of cement producers. This figure increased by 8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023, from 10.4Mt of cement to 11.2Mt.

Martynkina said "Development of infrastructure in Russia still does not correspond to long-term economic tasks and society needs. For example, the level of road network coverage in our country and the level of transport mobility are insufficient; high-speed motorways are close to none."

She highlighted extensive projects that will require ‘significant’ amounts of cement, including the North Siberian railway, the upgrade of 75 airports by 2030, improvements to seaports and expansions of the Eastern Range railway and the M-12 highway extending to Vladivostok.