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India Cements’ sale rise in third quarter despite demonetisation 30 January 2017
India: India Cement’s sales revenue has risen by 19% year-on-year to US$187m in the quarter than ended on 31 December 2016 from US$156m in the same period in 2015. Clinker and cement sales volumes rose by 22% to 2.36Mt from 1.94Mt. The cement producer said that it found the result ‘gratifying’ in view of the uncertainty created by the government’s demonetisation policy from November 2016 although the company had not experienced any negative impact itself. It also reported that a ‘steep’ price increase for petcoke and imported coal had been noted during the period.
Overall, India Cement’s income rose by 8% to US$558m for the nine months of 31 December 2016 from US$518m in the same period in 2015. Its profit rose by 78% to US$20.9m from US$11.7m.
Shree Cement’s income rises by 20% to US$1bn 30 January 2017
India: Shree Cement’s income has risen by 20% year-on-year to US$1bn for the first nine months to 31 December 2016 from US$834m in the same period in 2015. Its net profit nearly doubled to US$152m from US$86m. The cement producer also reported that its plans to build a 2.8Mt/yr cement plant at Kodla in Karnataka have received principal approval from its board. The plant will have a cement grinding capacity of 3Mt/yr. The project has been budgeted at US$265m and it is planned to be completed by the end of 2018.
Menzel celebrates 90th anniversary in 2017 27 January 2017
Germany: Menzel Elektromotoren celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2017. Kurt Menzel originally founded the manufacturer of industrial electric motors on 7 September 1927. Despite turbulent events in its early years including the economic depression in the 1930s, bomb damage during World War Two, its subsequent dismantling by the Soviets and the Berlin Blockade, the company continued operating in Berlin. Kurt Menzel’s grandson, Mathis Menzel, runs the company today.
South Africa: The Congress of South African Trade Unions, a federation of unions, has publicly complained about government permission granted to China’s CBMI Construction to bring workers into the country. CBMI Construction was awarded a tender for a US$90m upgrade project at PPC’s Slurry plant in 2015 and the union says it was allowed to import 242 Chinese workers to work on it. It is alleged that these workers have been working in the country since October 2015 and will continue to do so until 2018. The federation has asked the Department of Labour to look into the issue.
Pakistan: Lucky Cement’s sales have risen by 13% year-on-year to US$514m for the six months to 31 December 2016 from US$454m in the same period in 2015. Its profit after tax rose by 14% to US$83m from US$73m. It attributed the increase in revenue on rising sales volumes and its cost of sales fell due to lower fuel costs.
Its cement sales volumes rose by 5.4% to 3.5Mt from 3.3Mt, although exports fell by 16.3% to 0.75Mt from 0.9Mt. Overall the cement producer reported that its market share in Pakistan grew slightly to 18.8% due to an increase in its share of domestic sales.
The cement producer reported that construction at its Punjab cement plant project is awaiting governmental approvals and that it is expected to start in June 2017. A waste heat recovery unit at its Pezu plant is planned to finish commissioning and start operation by the end of January 2017. A joint-venture 1.18Mt/yr plant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo started commercial operation in December 2016 and a 0.87Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Iraq is expected to come online in August 2017.