Global Cement News

Brazil: Dirce Navarro de Camargo, who became Brazil's richest woman when she inherited the Camargo Corrêa industrial conglomerate, has died at the age of 100.

Camargo died on Saturday 20 April 2013. Her age was disclosed by an executive close to the family who asked not to be named because the matter is private. She controlled a fortune valued at US$13.8bn and was the 62nd richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg.

Founded in 1939 by her late husband, Sebastiao Camargo, the conglomerate has played a key role in developing Brazil's infrastructure. It participated in the construction of Brazil's new capital, Brasilia, in the 1950s. Today, its interests range from publicly-traded cement maker Cimpor Cimentos de Portugal to a flip-flop manufacturer.

Camargo's three daughters, Regina de Camargo Pires Oliveira Dias, Renata de Camargo Nascimento and Rosana Camargo de Arruda Botelho, are poised to inherit the family fortune. The company spokesman declined to comment on how that fortune will be split up.

Ecuador: Loesche has announced that it will deliver one LM 56.4 type vertical roller mill for cement raw material grinding for the Guayaquil cement plant currently being expanded for Holcim Ecuador. The order was placed by the Chinese general contractor Sinoma-TJ (CBMI), which will supply a 4500t/day line.

The mill will grind cement raw material and has been designed for a capacity of 386t/hr. The mill motor capacity will be 4000kW. It will compliment an existing Loesche mill that has been operating at the same plant since 2010. Delivery is planned at the end of 2013.

South Korea: Leading cement producers in South Korea, including Tongyang Cement, Hanil Cement and Sungshin, have notified ready-mixed concrete companies and construction contractors that they will freeze cement prices for 2013. The move follows an investigation on suspected price collusion by the Fair Trade Commission.

The official notices from the cement producers attributed the decision to the financial difficulties experienced by most cement-consuming industries. Accordingly, the cement makers will soon cancel the invoices sent out to the consumer firms.

Since February 2013, cement producers have said they would raise cement prices by 9 – 10% in 2013 due to a rise in the prices of bituminous coal and other raw materials. The cumulative losses of Korea's six major cement producers since 2007 have been in excess of US$867m.

Anhui Conch Cement has reported that its net profit fell by 22.2% year-on-year to US$157m for the first quarter of 2013. Its operating revenue rose by 11.8% on-year to US$1.6bn.

Shaanxi Qinling Cement has reported that its net loss was US$6.32m for the first quarter of 2013. It's operating revenue was US$21.4m for the same period. The company predicts that its cement sales would increase and that it would make profits in the second quarter. However, it is likely to suffer 'slight' losses in the first half of 2013.

Zhejiang Jianfeng Group has reported an operating revenue of US$267m in 2012, a year-on-year increase of 0.26%. Its net profit fell by 39.2% year-on-year to US$26.5m.

Cement companies in Zhejiang Province produced 115Mt of cement and 56.7Mt of clinker in 2012, year-on-year decreases of 4.8% and 5.9% respectively.

Ukraine: Volyn Cement has reported a loss of Euro2.86m for 2012. It recorded a net profit of Euro1.75m in 2011. The company based in Zdolbuniv, Rivne region, saw its net revenue remain stable at Euro62.8m. Multinational cement producer Dyckerhoff owns 98.4% of the shares in Volyn Cement.

Podilskiy Cement has reported a loss of Euro9.6m for 2012. The Khmelnytskyi region-based cement producer saw net revenue rise by 31.2% to Euro92.8m in 2012. Podilskiy Cement's plant has six kilns with a production capacity of 3.7Mt/yr. The business is controlled Ireland's Cement Roadstone Holdings.