Displaying items by tag: growth

Uzbekistan: The State Statistics Committee has reported that cement plants produced 9.2Mt of cement during the first nine months of 2023, up by 5.9% year-on-year from the corresponding period of 2022. The Uzbek Building Materials Producers’ Association says that the new 1.4Mt/yr Karakalpak cement plant will further add to full-year production volumes in 2023 when it comes online later in the year.

India: UltraTech Cement announced planned new capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments worth US$1.56bn to grow its production capacity, beginning in the 2026 financial year (1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026). The Telegraph newspaper has reported that the growth will expand UltraTech Cement’s capacity by 13% to 187Mt. 33.8Mt-worth of this (18%) will be in its native West India, 40.4Mt-worth (22%) in East India, 36.2Mt-worth (19%) in North India, 35.7Mt-worth (19%) in Central India and 35.5Mt-worth (19%) in Central India, with the remainder situated overseas. The new capacity consists of four new production facilities and four upgrades to existing facilities, supported by four new cement terminals. The producer says that it will come online in a phased manner, up to an unspecified end date.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chair of parent company Aditya Birla, said "Over the past seven years, UltraTech has strategically invested over US$6bn to support India's rapidly changing infrastructure landscape. Our fresh commitment of US$1.56bn underscores our deep-rooted belief in India's economic potential. With each investment, we have not only expanded our footprint, but also empowered India in meeting its need for housing, roads and other vital infrastructure."

Mexico: Cemex’s sales were US$13.2bn during the first nine months of 2023, up by 13% year-on-year from US$11.7bn in the first nine months of 2022. The group’s operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$2.6bn, up by 27% from US$2.1bn. This came in spite of a 7% year-on-year decline in its cement volumes, to 39.1Mt from 41.8Mt. Volumes rose by 3% in Mexico, but fell by 13% in the US, 4% in South, Central America and the Caribbean and 10% in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Cemex chief executive officer Fernando González said “2023 is proving to be an exceptional year for our company, and I am especially encouraged by our recovery of EBITDA margins to 2021 levels, a key strategic priority. The success of our pricing strategy, contribution of growth investments and our fast-growing Urbanisation Solutions business, as well as decelerating cost inflation, are contributing to profitability in a very meaningful way.” He continued “We are making significant progress on our decarbonization roadmap, reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions by 12% and 11%, respectively, since 2020. Prior to the introduction of our Future in Action programme in 2020, a reduction of this magnitude would have taken almost 15 years.”

India: Dalmia Bharat sold 13.2Mt of cement during the first half of the 2024 financial year (1 April 2023 – 30 September 2023), up by 9.6% year-on-year 12Mt in the first half of the 2023 financial year. This contributed towards a 24% year-on-year rise in the producer’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to US$144m from US$116m in the previous first half. During the first half of the current financial year, Dalmia Bharat commenced commercial production from its new 500,000t/yr Ariyalur clinker plant and 2Mt/yr Sattur grinding plant, both in Tamil Nadu. The former commissioning raised the company’s clinker capacity to 22.2Mt/yr.

Group managing director and CEO Puneet Dalmia said “We see a multi-year-strong cement demand trend continuing, as India is undergoing a large-scale metamorphosis. We were one of the first ones to foresee this upcycle and started building our capacity ahead of time. In the past 3.5 years, we have added 17.2Mt/yr-worth of cement capacity, which is 65% growth over 2020 financial year capacity. In line with our vision to reach 110 – 130Mt/yr by 2031, we are continuing to make consistent strides in that direction and capitalise upon the huge opportunity ahead of us.”

The company’s cement managing director and CEO, Mahendra Singhi, noted the effects of a ‘reduction in fuel prices, increased usage of renewable power and improvement in key performance indicators.’ He added “We continue to demonstrate our commitment towards the environment, as we have further brought down our CO₂ footprint to 456kg/t of cement, which is one of the lowest in the global cement sector.”

Pakistan: Fauji Cement sold 4.9Mt of cement during Pakistan’s 2023 financial year (FY2023), which ended on 30 June 2023. This generated revenues of US$244m, up by 25% year-on-year from US$194m in FY2022. The producer’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 29% to US$72.3m from US$56.2m.

Managing director and CEO Qamar Haris Manzoor said “The transformation journey which started in 2020 on capacity enhancement, cost reduction initiatives and increasing captive green energy has now started to pay dividends, despite unpreceded economic challenges.” He continued “FY2023 has been challenging for businesses due to all-time high inflation and interest rates, which saw a drop in consumer demand, negatively affecting the industry. The cement industry saw a demand decline of 16% as construction activities decreased in both the northern and southern regions of the country. Despite the tough environment, Fauji Cement remained committed to its growth strategy, and successfully commissioned its 6500t/day expansion project at its Nizampur site.”

India: Heidelberg Materials has entered preliminary discussions over the possible acquisition of its Indian business by JSW Cement. The business commands 13.4Mt/yr in cement production capacity, 7.1Mt/yr (53%) of it via Zuari Cement and 6.3Mt (47%) via HeidelbergCement India.

ET Now News has reported that JSW Cement made an unsolicited offer for the assets. The company aims to raise its capacity by 46% to 60Mt/yr by the end of 2028, in order to be among the top five cement producers in India.

Central Europe: Austria-based RHI Magnesita has acquired P-D Refractories from Germany-based Preiss-Daimler Group for Euro45m. P-D Refractories produces refractories in the Czech Republic and Germany, and operates other sites in the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

RHI-Magnesita’s CEO Stefan Borgas said “The production capabilities and vertical integration of P-D Refractories, combined with RHI Magnesita’s know-how and renowned research and development capabilities, will complement our product portfolio and enlarge our production footprint and sales channels on a global scale. This acquisition is our sixth transaction to close in the year to date and marks a major milestone for both companies in the process industries sector. Together we look forward to expanding our footprint and strengthening our market presence by offering high-grade refractory products and solutions to an enlarged customer base.”

UK: James Whitelaw will take on the role of managing director in Hanson UK’s newly-established recycling business line. He will be responsible for identifying opportunities to grow organically using the company’s existing capabilities and for integrating new acquisitions.

Whitelaw has held management roles in Hanson UK since 2001 and most recently served as aggregates managing director. Former concrete managing director Brian Charleton will replace him in this role, while Gordon Napier, previously concrete regional director, joins Hanson UK’s executive team as the new concrete managing director.

Ukraine: Cement companies produced 4.75Mt of cement during the first eight months of 2023, up by 30% year-on-year from eight-month 2022 levels. Interfax-Ukraine News has reported that producers are operating at 60% production capacity.

Liudmyla Kripka, executive director of the Ukrainian cement association, Ukrcement, said “If we compare it with last year, when the country’s economy was in shock from Russia’s treacherous attack on Ukraine and the start of the full-scale war, the situation has improved somewhat. Cement production in the first half of 2023 grew by 26%, and in the first eight months by 30%, compared to last year.” Kripka added “We are still far from the indicators of 2021, but the dynamics are encouraging. Once there was a prospect, work for the future began. Cement producers, even in war conditions, are investing in Ukraine and the economic restoration of the regions. This expands the production capacity of the industry as a whole and contributes to the creation of new jobs.”

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies reported revenues of Euro1.68m during the first half of 2023, more than triple those recorded in the first half of 2022 (Euro544,000). The producer’s sales volumes of its clinkerless cement also more than tripled, to 7340t. It says it is on course to achieve its full-year 2023 target of 24,000t. The commissioning of its H2 plant in France raised the company’s installed production capacity by 250,000t.

Co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said "Thanks to the daily work of all our teams, we are accelerating the marketing of our innovative clinker-free cement in a construction market with demand for truly carbon-free solutions. Considering the seasonality of our sales, we intend to intensify the transformation of our order book into sales during the second half of 2023.”