Global Cement News

Austria: Pyroprocessing specialist A TEC GRECO has announced two appointments. Peter Schwei will join the company as Sales and Technical Managing Director from 3 June 2013. Christoph Voutsinas joined the company on 2 April 2013 as Global Sales Manager. Both roles will be based in Austria.

Schwei, aged 50, previously worked as the technical managing director for a cement producer in Austria. He holds a mining degree from Montan University in Leoben.

Voutsinas, aged 34, previously worked in account and sales management in the refractory industry. He holds a physics degree from the Technical University Vienna.

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement has said that leading Taiwanese cement makers will benefit from industry consolidation in China because it will boost prices. Due to the mergers, Taiwan Cement's clients in China are no longer demanding the price reductions they did in 2012 said Robert Chen, deputy spokesman of Taiwan Cement, to the Taipei Times.

Average cement prices in eastern and south-western China have risen recently, while prices have stopped declining in the south, said Chen. In addition, cement demand in China's rural areas has increased after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Asia Cement Corp said the problem of oversupply is easing after the Chinese government asked companies to close down inefficient kilns. The cement market in China was severely hit when the Chinese government decided to curb rising house prices, according to an official at Asia Cement. However, the official said that cement prices in China only recovered to the levels of 2011, when the Chinese government decided to open up the cement market and increase the number of suppliers.

China: Tangshan Jidong Cement reported a net profit of US$29.1m in 2012, a drop of 88.2% year-on-year according to a company statement. Operating revenue fell by 7.1% year-on-year to US$2.36bn. Jidong Cement plans to increase its production of cement by 20% in 2013 to 72Mt.

Nigeria: The Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) has called for a review of the industry's code of standards. CMAN chairman, Joseph Makoju, made the call at a forum in Abuja on concrete specifications, applications and cement standards.

"We need to have our own relevant code of practices and standards revised taking local conditions into consideration. It is also very important that our codes are robust and standards are robust, practical and uniformly and consistently applied in practice," said CMAN vice chairman Jean-Christopher Barbant. He added the current codes, when reviewed, would ensure uniformity in applications.

Joseph Odumodu, the director general of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, said that the issue of quality had been a major challenge facing the regulatory agencies. He cited an example of 32 cement trucks from Benin that had been blocked from entering Nigeria as an example that the federal government should emulate.

Saudi Arabia: Yamama Cement has reported that its net profit remained stable year-on-year for the first three months of 2013 at US$73.9m. However its net profit rose by 59% from US$46.4m in the fourth quarter of 2012. The company attributed the increase in net profit from the fourth quarter to an increase in domestic demand.

The Arabian Cement Company reported a net income of US$42m for the first three months of 2013, a rise of 7.7% from US$39m year-on-year. Net income doubled from US$21m for the fourth quarter of 2012. Gross profit fell year-on-year by 3.6% to US$44.9m from US$46.5m. The company attributed the year-on-year rise in net income to a decrease in operating expenses and the increase in other income. The decrease in gross profit was attributed to a decrease in sales revenue.

Yanbu Cement Company reported that its net profit rose by 70% to US$65.9m in the first quarter of 2013 compared to US$38.4m in the same quarter in 2012. Net profit rose by 21.4% from US$54.1m in the fourth quarter of 2012. Yanbu's gross and operating profits rose accordingly. The company attributed the rises in profits to increased sales and as a result of the start of 'Line 5 commercial production from April 2012 and Opex efficiencies.'