China: Huaxin Cement’s sales rose by 27% year-on-year to US$1.75bn in the first half of 2018 from US$1.38bn in the same period in 2017. Its net profit nearly tripled to US$304m from US$107m. Its cement and clinker sales volumes grew by 1.13% to 32.2Mt.

The cement producer said that it had been challenged by raw materials and fuel price rises and kiln suspensions due to government-mandated peak shifting production during the reporting period. However, measures such as higher alternative fuels co-processing rates and efficiency gains helped to bolster its financial performance. Its kiln waste processing volumes increased by 18.4% to 0.68Mt.

The company added that its Tibet Shannan 3rd Phase 3000t/day clinker production line was ‘proceeding smoothly’ and was scheduled to start operation by the end of August 2018. Its 4000t/day Yunnan Luquan clinker line and 2.85Mt/yr Huangshi clinker replacement line projects have started construction. In Nepal a 2800t/day clinker line is scheduled to start construction by the end of the year. It is also working on municipal solid waste (MSW) projects in Wuhan Changshankou and Lijiang.

India: OCL India has held a stone-laying ceremony for its third integrated cement plant at its Rajgangpur site in Odisha. Naveen Patnaik, chief minister of Odisha state, attended the event along with the management of OCL India and its owners, Dalmia Cement (Bharat). The new unit will be known as Dalmia DSP.

The new plant will have a 2.25Mt/yr cement and 3Mt/yr clinker production capacity. Once it becomes operational it will increase production at the Rajgangpur site to 6.25Mt/yr of cement and 5.9Mt/yr of clinker.

The project has an investment of US$356m and it is expected to be commissioned by early 2020. As part of the project the cement producer also plans to build a 2.5Mt/yr cement plant with an investment of US$57m at Biswali near Cuttack.

Malaysia: Repair costs at Cahya Mata Sarawak’s (CMS) Kuching cement plant have reduced the profits of the company’s cement division. The planned maintenance period in January and February 2018 was the first major shutdown carried out by the group since it purchased the integrated unit in 2007. The division’s performance was also hit by an increase in the price of imported clinker due to a reported ‘tight supply’ in the international market. The division’s profit before tax fell by 17% year-on-year to US$9.56m in the first half of 2018 from US$11.5m in the same period in 2017. However, its revenue grew by 8%.

Overall, CMS reported revenue growth of 15% to US$183m and a pre-tax profit increase of 32% to US$42.9m. It attributed the strong performance to its other subsidiaries.

Kenya: Any potential financial recovery of ARM Cement could be threatened by the loss of its mining licences. Local legislation lists insolvency as a condition that could trigger suspension or revocation of a mining licence, according to the Business Daily newspaper. The cement producer was placed into administration by UBA Bank in mid-August 2018, with PricewaterhouseCoopers staff appointed as administrators. PWC’s Muniu Thoithi said that the company was approaching the government on the issue.