Global Cement News

Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has re-elected Aizaz Mansoor Sheikh unanimously as its at its Annual General Meeting held at APCMA Secretariat, Lahore. Names of the other elected office-bearers for the year 2012-13 were also announced at the meeting.

A statement issued by APCMA said that Sayeed Tariq Saigol of Maple Leaf Cement Factory and Muhammad Ali Tabba of Lucky Cement were also unanimously re-elected as Vice Chairmen of the Association.

Aizaz Mansoor Sheikh of Kohat Cement Company has served as Chairman of the APCMA for eight years since 1992. The current term 2012-13 is his second consecutive term as Chairman APCMA.

M Raza Mansha of DG Khan Cement, Amer Faruque of Cherat Cement, Rehmat Khan of Lafarge Cement Pakista, M Sabir of Fauji Cemen, Asmat Ullah Khan Niazi of Askari Cement, Syed Asif Shah of Bestway Cement, Babar Bashir Nawaz of Attock Cement Pakistan, Mazhar Iqbal of Pioneer Cement, M Tousif Paracha of Gharibwal Cement were elected as Members of the Executive Committee.

Prominent industry issues discussed at the meeting included were the non-availability of railways wagons for export to India, high diesel rates and its consequential effects on the high input costs that the industry is confronted with.

South Africa: Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC), the biggest producer of cement products in South Africa, has appointed Ketso Gordhan as CEO from 1 January 2013. Gordhan will succeed current CEO Paul Stuiver, who will have completed his contract.

Gordhan will join the group's board as CEO-designate from 1 November 2012. His most recent role has been in the South African Presidency, where from 2009 he developed performance metrics and targets for government ministries. Before working for the Presidency, Gordhan was head of private equity at FirstRand Financial Services Group for almost a decade. He was also city manager of Johannesburg between 1999 and 2000.

Previously Gordhan was the campaigns manager for the African National Congress and policy co-ordinator between 1990 and 1994. He was also director-general of the Department of Transport between 1994 and 1999 and was involved in privatising Airports Company SA and setting up the first privately funded toll road to Maputo. The South African National Roads Agency was also created during this period.

"Ketso brings a wealth and blend of experience in business and in government, as well as knowledge of various industries," said PPC group chairman Bheki Sibiya.

India: Heidelberg Cement India has reported an increase in its net profit for the third quarter of 2012, which ended on 30 September 2012, of US$1.42m, compared to a net loss of US$1.55m for the same period in 2011. Total income for the quarter increased by 23.1% to US$48.6m from US$39.5m.

HeidelbergCement India is a subsidiary of Cementrum IBV, a company incorporated under the laws of The Netherlands that is 100% controlled by HeidelbergCement AG.

Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan cement producer Steppe Cement has reported a 28% year-on-year increase in its third quarter revenue for 2012 to US$48m. The company sold 518,000t of cement in the quarter, a year-on-year increase of 16%.

For the nine-month period that ended on 30 September 2012, Steppe Cement recorded a year-on-year rise in revenue of 25% to US$99.4m compared with US$79.3m. Sales volume increased by 8% to 1.13Mt from 1.05Mt. During this period the cement market in Kazakhstan increased by 13% year-on-year. In light of this Steppe Cement has revised its estimate for national consumption of cement in 2012 from 6.8Mt to 7.0Mt.

Indonesia: Cement sales in Indonesia have hit a record high of 5.16Mt in September 2012, according to data from the country's largest cement producer PT Semen Gresik. The amount represents a 34.4% rise compared to the same month in 2011 when sales were 3.84Mt.

September 2012 sales were boosted by increased monthly sales on the main islands of Java and Sumatra. However sales on the island of Moluccas and Papua fell by 21.7% on a monthly basis. The strong September 2012 sales follow a dip in sales in August 2012 due to fewer working days during religious festivities. Domestic cement sales in Indonesia fluctuate with factors such as holidays and government project completion deadlines.

"We expect domestic volume growth of 12.6% in 2012 and 10.8% in 2013, helped by strong marketing sales," commented Teguh Hartanto, an analyst for Bahana Securities in Jakarta.