Global Cement News

Nigeria: Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has announced plans to create a new tariff on imported bulk cement. The move follows the alleged cement 'glut' surrounding a dispute between importer Ibeto Cement and leading producer Dangote Cement in late 2012. The current duty on imported bulk cement is 10% but no levy is imposed on the commodity.

At a meeting on Nigerian business competitiveness organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Aganga said that there was no basis for importing cement clinker since Nigeria has a cement production capacity of 28.6Mt/yr. He also stated that at no time did he issue any import permit for bulk cement in 2012.

Indonesia: PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa reportedly reduced its exports by 84.5% in 2012 in order to meet rising domestic demand for cement in Indonesia, according to a company spokesman.

The state-run company cut its exports to 0.1Mt in 2012 from 0.6Mt in 2011, and witnessed a rise of 12.3% in its domestic sales, which reached 17.9Mt in 2012. In 2011 the company sold 15.4Mt of cement at home.

In 2012 the company's cement brand, Tiga Roda, accounted for a major part of its market share with sales of the branded cement rising by 32%. In 2011 the company's brand covered 31.5% of Indocement's entire market share.

The positive performance in the company's cement sales in 2012 was due to Indocement's strategic expansion plans that involved building new cement plants in the country. In addition, the cement producer has signed an initial agreement on equipment provision services, construction and implementation with the Chinese Sinoma Group.

Burundi: Burundi Cement Company (BUCECO) doubled its production and profits in its first two years of operations and is expected to reach capacity later in 2013, according to its founder and owner Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa.

Burundi's first and only cement producer, which employs 80 people, began production in January 2011. It produced 70,500t of cement in 2012 compared to 34,500t in 2011. It made a profit of US$22m in 2012 compared to US$10m in 2011.

"Clearly, this country has great demand for high-quality, affordable cement and we are delighted that BUCECO can help meet the need," said Ayabatwa.

BUCECO's cement plant has a production capacity of 100,000t/yr and the producer has plans to double its capacity. Before BUCECO was operational, Burundi imported all of its cement from other East African countries including Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

Tanzania: The Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) has reported a 22% increase in net profit to US$37.9m in 2012 from US$31.2m in 2011.

The company's turnover increased by 15% to US$153m from US$134m. Cost of sales rose due to double-digit inflation rates and energy tariffs rising to US$80m in 2012 compared to tariffs of US$72.5m in 2011. The Tanzanian Shilling remained relatively stable compared with major trading world currencies in 2012, depreciating by less than 1% against the US Dollar.

According to the TPCC statement of audited results, local cement producers were exposed to foreign imports in 2012 as East African Community (EAC) governments decided not to reinstate suspended duties on cement in the common external tariff. The TPCC board has also approved further expansion with a new cement mill in 2013.

Production: China saw cement output increase by 10.8% year-on-year to 237Mt in the first two months of 2013, according to recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

45 companies in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region produced a total 466,000t of cement and 2.67Mt of clinker in the first two months of 2013, a year- on-year decrease of 9.28% and 37.27% respectively, according to sources quoted by China Business Newswire.

Guangdong Province produced 118Mt of cement in 2012.

Company news: China Shanshui Cement has reported that its net profit fell by 31.8% to US$245m in 2012. Its revenue fell by 4.2% to US$2.6bn in 2012. Total sales volume of cement and clinker rose by 3.5% to 56.9Mt. It attributed the decrease in net profit to the fall of selling prices as a result of decline in demand.

West China Cement has reported that its net profit rose by 44.9% to US$57.9m in 2012. Operating revenue grow by 10.5% to US$566m. The company saw cement sales rise by 22.2% to 14.3Mt.

Fujian Cement has reported a slump in net profit of 76.9% to US$4.63bn in 2012. Operating revenue fell by 13.7% to US$261m. The company expects to earn US$359m in operating revenue in 2013.

Gansu Qilianshan Cement Group sold 15.3Mt of cement and cement clinker in 2012, a year-on-year increase of 29.2%. Currently the company has a cement production capacity of 21.3Mt/yr and it aims to reach a capacity of 45Mt/yr by the end of 2015. Gansu Qilianshan Cement Group Co has announced in its annual report for 2012 that the company saw its net profit drop by 47.8% year-on-year to US$28m in 2012. The company's operating revenue rose by 17.28% year-on-year to US$684m in 2012.

Xinjiang Tianshan Cement Co Ltd has reported that it saw net profit drop by 71.8% year-on-year to US$51.3m in 2012. The company attributed the net profit drop to overcapacity in the cement industry in 2012. Tianshan Cement's operating revenue for 2012 fell by 6.99% year-on-year to US$1.24bn.

Shenzhen-listed cement producer, Sichuan Shuangma Cement Co has announced that it earned a net profit of US$1.37m in 2012, a year-on-year decline of 90%. The company's operating revenue for 2012 decreased by 8.3% on-year to US$301m.