Lebanon: The Ministry of Industry has reversed a recent decision to allow cement imports into the country. Following a meeting with local cement producers, Minister Imad Hobballah declared that allowing imports would decrease official selling prices rapidly, according to the L'Orient-Le Jou newspaper. Local producers have reported low sales due to a strict coronavirus-related lockdown that started in January 2021. Cimenterie Nationale reportedly stopped production in early February 2021 due to a lack of raw materials.

Guatemala: Local cement producers have expressed concern over the quality of rising imports from Asia. Issues over quality standards and packaging have been raised, according to the El Periódico newspaper. According to data from the Bank of Guatamala, cement imports worth around US$57m were reported in the first 11 months of 2020. Imports from Turkey and Vietnam represented 85% of this. The country has a cement production capacity of 5.5Mt/yr and domestic consumption is around 3Mt/yr.

Denmark: FLSmidth’s group net sales fell by 20% year-on-year to Euro2.21bn in 2020 from Euro2.78bn in 2019. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) before special non-recurring items fell by 44% to Euro152m from Euro270m. Net profit was Euro27.6m, down by 74% from Euro104m.

The group’s cement business recorded net sales of Euro783m, down by 31% from Euro1.14bn, and an EBITA loss of Euro15.9m, compared to a gain of Euro65.3m in 2019. It said that the cement business is not expected to be EBITA positive in 2021 due to continued cement reshaping costs. However, order intake for the cement division improved year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2020 due to a Euro101m engineering, procurement and supervision contract for a cement plant project in Ethiopia.

Chair Vagn Ove Sørensen and chief executive officer Thomas Schulz said, “The cement market is faced with on-going overcapacity and we see no short-term to medium-term recovery. Thus, we continue activities to reshape our cement business. Large economic stimulus programmes, combined with an increasing focus on lower-carbon cement, will create good opportunities in the medium- to long-term but the timing and extent of an overall rebound in the cement market remain uncertain. It is, however, clear that the cement industry will need substantial investments to meet the emissions reduction targets set by a growing number of cement producers as well as the recent commitments to carbon neutrality made by the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and the European Cement Association. Based on the need to decarbonise, we foresee a multi-commodity cement industry in the future, utilising a range of cement production processes and a variety of raw materials. As the industry’s leading and most innovative premium supplier with strong process know-how, we are strongly positioned to benefit from this development.”

In further comments about cement industry trends the company noted that, “Following the shutdown of about 20% of the world’s cement plants outside of China in April 2020, the share of cement plants in operation has since climbed back up above 95% at year-end. However, many plants continue to run at reduced capacity and sites remain difficult to access due to restrictions and preventative measurements taken by authorities and plant operators.”

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement’s consolidated net profit in the nine-month period which ended on 31 December 2020 was US$355m, up by 22% year-on-year from US$292m in the same period in 2019. Sales fell by 2% to US$6.24bn from US$6.33bn.

The company said that domestic demand fell in the second quarter of the 2021 financial year due to the suspension of construction work during a local coronavirus lockdown. Cement sales volumes of Japanese producers were 29.6Mt, a decrease of 5% yet exports rose by 6% to 8.22Mt. Public and private sector demand remained sluggish into the third quarter of the financial year due to process delays and a shortage of construction workers. However, its cement business recorded a year-on-year price increase.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka’s Cement’s consolidated sales were US$1.68bn in the nine-month period which ended on 31 December 2020, down by 3% year-on-year from US$1.74m in the corresponding period of its 2020 financial year. Its net profit rose by 5% to US$77.9m from US$73.8m. In December 2020 the company launched its ‘2020 - 2022 Medium-Term Management Plan’ to enable it to meet carbon neutrality by 2050.

India: JK Cement’s consolidated revenue from operations in the first three quarters of its 2021 financial year rose by 5% year-on-year to US$614m from US$584m. Its consolidated profit after tax rose by 52% to US$67.1m from US$44.3m, while standalone earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 29% to US$147m from US$115m. Its sales volumes of cement grew by 9% to 7.75Mt from 7.12Mt.

The group reported that it had two projects on-going in the period with a combined cost of US$267m at 31 December 2020. These were the installation of an overland belt conveyor for limestone at a 4.2Mt/yr cement plant expansion and the upgrade of Line 3 of its Nimbahera cement plant in Rajasthan.

Germany: HeidelbergCement has completed a review of its business and identified five assets to sell. Reuters has reported that the company plans to sell the first of the five assets in early - mid-2021. Chairman Dominik von Achten said that the group would not exit ‘rock-solid’ markets like Northern Europe. He added that Indonesia, where it holds a 51% stake in Indocement, is an ‘important market.’

Von Achten said that the group has made a strong start to 2021, though ‘visibility on future prospects’ remains low. Its focus is on raising the productivity of underperforming assets or selling them. He added that a margin improvement plan in its underperforming North American region is on track.

US: The US Department of Energy has awarded a grant to Cemex USA, UK-based carbon capture and storage (CCS) specialist Carbon Clean and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The grant covers the implementation of a CCS system at Cemex USA’s Victorville cement plant in California, in addition to the development of a commercially viable carbon utilisation solution. The producer says that the study is due to last 30 months.

President Jaime Muguiro said, “Cemex is committed to being part of the solution to reduce carbon emissions globally and to deliver net-zero CO₂ concrete to all of our customers by 2050. We cannot achieve these aims without innovative technology and collaborative relationships with both public and private organizations who share a commitment to climate action. This grant gives us an excellent opportunity to further develop a new technology to help us all reach our goals.”

Colombia: Switzerland-based finance company RobecoSAM has listed Cementos Argos in the Silver Class in its Sustainability Yearbook 2021. It chose the producer from among over 7000 companies from 61 industries on the basis of its Dow Jones Sustainability Index score.

Cementos Argos Legal and Sustainability vice president María Isabel Echeverri said, “Being included for the eighth consecutive year in the RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook encourages us to maintain our high sustainability standards and allows us to continue improving every day so that we can continue contributing to the development and growth of our clients and to the well-being of millions of people in all the territories in which we are present. This recognition is the result of the work of a team committed and convinced of the importance of creating value for society and for the company.”

Belgium: The European cement association Cembureau has called for the European Union (EU) to continue to permit the free allocation of carbon credits under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) until it completes the roll-out of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAM) in 2030 at the earliest. It said that this would provide indirect cost compensation and mitigate the risk of the relocation of industries. It would additionally incentivise emissions reduction by EU suppliers, ensure a smooth implementation of CBAM in the event of challenge to CBAM by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and mitigate distortions on the EU internal market, according to the association. It gave the example of cement producers competing with other building materials producers as a way in which an overlap period can limit the disruptive impact of CBAM on European value chains.

Chief executive officer Koen Coppenholle said, “A pragmatic approach is needed regarding the interaction of CBAM with the existing carbon leakage measures. A full co-existence of CBAM and free allocation is essential to minimise risks for the industry, avoid distortions on the internal market, safeguard the competitiveness of exports and provide certainty for investors. Such full co-existence, which can be done without any risk of ‘double protection,’ should last at least until the end of Phase IV of the EU ETS in 2030, following which the CBAM will hopefully be mature and expanded to cover most sectors of the economy.” He added, “CBAM is a useful tool to address the imports of products not subject to similar carbon constraints in the EU and therewith mitigates the carbon leakage risk allowing the European cement industry to deliver low-carbon investments. The Environment Committee’s report highlights some key points in this respect, notably that a CBAM should result in EU and non-EU suppliers competing on the same CO₂ costs basis, that the scope of CBAM should be wide to avoid market distortions and that both direct and indirect emissions should be included.”