Global Cement News

Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement Company has estimated that its net profit for the second quarter of 2012 will be 9.6% higher than the comparable period in 2011 at US$69.9m compared to US$63.7m.

Its estimated gross profit during the second quarter was US$71.9m compared to US$67.2m, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. The company estimated its operating profit during the second quarter as US$69.8m compared to US$63.7m for the corresponding quarter of 2011, an increase of 9.6%.

Over the course of the six months to 30 June 2012, Southern Province estimates that its net profit will be in the region of US$154.6m compared to US$124.0m and that its operating profit will be US$146.7m compared to US$125.1m in the corresponding period of 2011.

Southern Province said that the rise in net profit for the second quarter and for the six month period was due to operation of the second production line at its Tahama plant, which had no unforeseen stoppages. There was also an increase in demand for cement in the local market.

The company noted that its second quarter 2012 net profit was marginally weaker than that of the first quarter of 2012 due to industry-wide pressure from the Ministry of Commerce to reduce cement prices.

India: Having welcomed the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) decision to impose a record US$1.1bn penalty on 11 cement companies, the Builders' Association of India (BAI) has asked the competition watchdog to review the size of penalty.

The BAI has urged the CCI to, "review the quantum of the penalty and also to conduct an inquiry into the losses incurred by contractors due to such profiteering by cement manufacturers and to consider reimbursing the losses to the contractors."

D L Desai, a trustee of the BAI, said that it had urged the CCI to impose a fixed percentage of the penalty as a deposit with the CCI in case the cement manufacturers approach the Appellate Authority in an attempt to challenge the fine.

"We are happy that the CCI has taken action to penalise the cement companies. It (will) give a boost to the construction industry, leading to the revival of our economy, which is currently going through a difficult phase," said BAI Secretary Anand Gupta.

"The construction industry is a major driver of the Indian economy and any unfair practices as indulged in by the cement companies have adverse impact not only on this industry but the overall economy," he added.

Portugal: The Brazilian industrial conglomerate Camargo Corrêa has completed its takeover of Portugal's Cimpor on 20 June 2012 and now controls 94.8% of the cement-maker.

The success of the move was largely expected by analysts who will now look at the terms in which the company's assets will be split between Camargo and its Brazilian rival Votorantim. The deal includes an asset swap with Votorantim, Cimpor's second largest shareholder.

Camargo will integrate its South American and Angolan cement operations into Cimpor. Votorantim will then have the opportunity to buy Cimpor's operations in China, India, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Peru and part of its Spanish business at a set price defined by independent auditing companies.

Camargo, which was already the largest single shareholder in Cimpor with a 33% stake, launched a Euro2.5bn bid for the rest of the company in March 2012. Portugal's state-owned bank CGD, investor Manuel Fino and Millennium BCP's pension fund all accepted Camargo's Euro5.50/share offer.

The Portuguese government has said a Cimpor deal will help CGD deleverage and defended Camargo's bid from suggestions that it was against the national interest. Cimpor has been one of Portugal's most successful and internationally-diversified companies.

India: In one of the largest fines of its kind, India's antitrust body has imposed a penalty of a combined US$1.1bn on 11 cement companies for price fixing. The companies penalised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) include ACC and Ambuja Cements (both units of Swiss cement-maker Holcim), UltraTech Cement, Jaiprakash Associates, India Cements, Madras Cements and the local unit of France's Lafarge.

"The commission has found that the cement companies have not utilised the available capacity, so as to reduce supplies and raise prices in times of higher demand," said the CCI in its judgement. It said that the penalty on each company amounted to 50% of their profit for the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11.

ACC has been fined US$201m and Ambuja has to pay US$204m. India's largest producer of the building material, Ultratech Cement, has to pay US$206m, while Lafarge's Indian unit will have to shell out US$84m. Jaiprakash Associates has been fined US$232m.

On 21 June 2012 the CCI said that the cement companies' action of limiting supplies to the market through an 'anti-competitive agreement' was not only detrimental to consumers but also to the economy, as the building material is a critical input for infrastructure projects. The regulator asked the companies to pay the fine within 90 days. The companies can challenge the regulator's orders in the Competition Appellate Tribunal, a quasi-judicial body and can then appeal to India's Supreme Court.

In response UltraTech said that it hasn't indulged in any cartelisation and that it would appeal against the order in the appellate tribunal. In Zurich Holcim said it would, "contest the allegations and findings against (ACC and Ambuja) in the order and will pursue all available legal steps to defend their respective positions." In Paris Lafarge said, "We will see the detailed report and decide the suitable actions to take. Lafarge has a strict policy to comply with competition laws."

The CCI started accepting cases in 2009, replacing a relatively toothless antitrust body that had been in place since 1970, and has been becoming increasingly assertive. The biggest penalty it had imposed so far was in 2011, when it ordered DLF Ltd., India's biggest property developer by sales, to pay US$120m for abusing its dominant market position by changing agreements signed with some property buyers.

The judgement comes at a bad time for cement companies, as demand for construction materials is weak due to sluggish economic growth and a fall in spending on infrastructure projects. The cost of raw materials such as coal is on the rise as well, pressuring margins.

The Global CemPower conference took place last week in London, attracting 103 delegates from 25 countries. The conference looked at waste heat recovery options in the global cement industry. 'Back-of-the-envelope' calculations suggest that the value of the waste heat recovery units that could be installed in the global cement industry in the next ten years might total US$50bn - well worth thinking about.

Robert McCaffrey, the conference convenor, gave a listing at the event of the seven megatrends that will shape the future of the global cement industry, including demographic trends (aging of both developing and developed nations), urbanisation (with 70-75% of humanity due to live in cities by 2050), the growth of new country superpowers, the possibility of further climate change, paradigm shifts in the cement industry business model, ever-increasing energy costs and the influence of Rumsfeldian known-unknowns and unknown-unknowns.

Whatever else happens in the next 50 years, increased energy costs and energy efficiency will be the order of the day. In the global cement industry, waste heat recovery is here to stay.

Presentations, videos and a full review of the Global CemPower conference are available here, www.globalcement.com/conferences/global-cempower/introduction.