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Turkey: Akçansa Çimento has posted a 2015 first quarter net profit of Euro22.4m, down from Euro22.8m in the prior year period. Operating profit was Euro20.7m, compared to an operating profit of Euro22.7m in the same period of 2014. Pre-tax profit was Euro26.3m, compared to a pre-tax profit of Euro27.1m. Total revenue fell to Euro108m from Euro116m in 2014.
Saudi Arabia: The Chinese General Contractor Chengdu Design & Research Institute of Bldg Materials Industry Co Ltd in Chengdu has placed an order with Gebr. Pfeiffer SE for the supply of an MPS 3070 BC cement mill for Readymix in Saudi Arabia. The 1100kW drive power mill will grind 30t/hr of granulated blast-furnace slag and 46t/hr of Ordinary Portland Cement to a fineness of 4000cm²/g and 3600cm²/g, respectively. Delivery of the equipment is scheduled for 2015.
Export lifeline for Vietnam’s cement producers 13 May 2015
Vietnam: The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) said that growing cement exports have helped domestic cement plants to slash inventories in recent years.
Vietnam produced around 70.6Mt of cement in 2014, 15% higher than 2013. Domestic consumption totalled 50.9Mt, while export sales reached 21.1Mt, up by 10% and 30% year-on-year respectively. Big producers like Vicem, Nghi Son, Chinfon, Thang Long Vina, Vissai and Thang Long contributed 80% of total cement exports in 2014. Their major markets were Bangladesh, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of VNCA, said that the supply - demand balance would continue to improve in 2015 as demand for construction materials in the country and abroad is forecast to pick up. However, the VNCA warned that local cement enterprises would have to cope with fiercer competition at home and abroad. Cung said that Cong Thanh Cement Co would commission a 3.6Mt/yr clinker line in Thanh Hoa in June 2015. In addition, the Dong Lam and Thach My cement plants have run at full capacity so far in 2015. An imbalance between supply and demand might occur if clinker and cement exports decline as Vietnam now faces tough competition from other exporting countries like China, South Korea and Thailand.
Sri Lanka: Lafarge Mahaweli Cement is on schedule with its Savi Piyasa housing programme and has now partnered with nine leading brands in the construction sector and two commercial banks to add value to its technical assistance scheme for individual homebuilders.
Under its 'Building Better Cities' theme, Lafarge has helped many families around the world to have better, affordable housing facilities and hopes to provide decent housing to two million people worldwide by 2020.
In Sri Lanka, Lafarge has already provided architectural assistance to 220 families in the Western and Northern Province. With the intention of providing even better options for its Savi Piyasa clients, Lafarge has now entered into partnerships with several leading brands, enabling it to receive special discounts on a large variety of building materials such as steel, paints, glass, PVC pipes, etc. Moreover, Lafarge has tied up with commercial banks and microfinance institutions to provide their customers with easy access to loan facilities.
"We started this programme a year ago and we have been getting a lot of positive feedback. A package integrating architectural assistance, special discounts and financial facility has not been offered in Sri Lanka before, so I am confident that the individual homebuilders in the country will find interest in this turnkey solution," said Lafarge Mahaweli Cement managing director Anurag Kak.
Italy: Cementir Holding has reported a pre-tax profit of Euro3.8m in the first quarter of 2015 compared with a pre-tax loss of Euro1.8m in the same period of 2014. Revenues fell by 0.9% to Euro205m. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 1.6% to Euro24.2m. Net financial debt widened to Euro326m at the end of March 2015 from Euro278m at the end of 2014. For the entire 2015, Cementir expects an EBITDA of some Euro190m and a net financial debt of around Euro230m.