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Egypt: Sinai Cement has reported a net loss of US$1.43m for the first quarter of 2015, which ended on 31 March 2015. In the same period of 2014 it posted a net profit of US$4.67m. Meanwhile, Misr Beni Suef Cement has reported a net profit of US$4.59m for the first quarter of 2015, which ended on 31 March 2015. In the same quarter of 2014 it posted a net profit of US$6.67m.
Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement Ltd has swung to a large pre-tax loss for 2014. The company said that its results were affected by the depreciation of the country's currency, the devaluation of the Russian Ruble and lower oil prices.
For the year ended on 31 December 2014, Steppe Cement reported a pre-tax loss of US$8.1m, compared with a pre-tax profit of US$13m in 2013, on revenues of US$117m and US$128m, respectively. Steppe Cement produced 1.6Mt of cement in 2014, up by 18% from the year ago period. It expects the overall Kazakh market demand for cement in 2015 to increase by 3% to 8.8Mt.
Philippines: The Philippine operations of Thailand's Siam Cement Group (SCG) recorded a double-digit growth in revenues in the first quarter of 2015 due to stronger demand. SCG's products being sold in the Philippines include building materials, ceramic tiles, sanitary wares, and paper.
SCG said that its revenues reached US$43m in the first quarter of 2015, 12% higher than the US$38m in the same period of 2014. The rise was attributed to growing demand in the sanitary wares and paper market in the Philippines.
"SCG in the Philippines currently focuses on penetrating the market as well as building the SCG brand to strengthen its position and recall among Filipino consumers," said SCG president and CEO Kan Trakulhoon.
For the Southeast Asian region, SCG's total revenues reached US$3.35bn in the first quarter of 2015, down by 10% year-on-year due to lower chemical prices as a result of declining oil prices. In line with its aim of developing more high-value added products and services to meet customer needs, SCG has set aside US$147m for investments for research and development in the Southeast Asian region in 2015.
Given the overall positive economic outlook in the region, SCG intends to continue to expand investments. "We are confident that the region's overall economy is continuing on an upward trend and is extremely favourable. Thus, SCG's investments regionally will continue to grow," said Trakulhoon.
Indocement disburses 94% of profits as dividends 15 May 2015
Indonesia: Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, part of Germany's HeidelbergCement, has secured shareholder approval to pay 94% of the company's 2014 profits, about US$382m, as dividends. Indocement booked US$403m in profits in 2014, a 5.2% increase from US$383m in 2013. During 2014, its net revenues totalled US$1.47bn, an increase from US$1.43bn in 2013.
President director Christian Kartawijaya said that net revenues had dropped by 3.8% year-on-year to US$331m in the first quarter of 2015 due to a decline in demand. He said that he hoped sales would increase in the second quarter, during which the government was expected to begin major infrastructure projects. "The recent cement price cut by the government affected our business, but it was not so bad because we were also able to cut costs," said Kartawijaya.
President Joko Widodo instructed state-run Semen Indonesia to lower the price of cement in January 2015, a move that led to private cement companies lowering their selling prices to keep up with competition. Indocement lowered its average cement prices by 4%. However, it also reduced its operational costs, including energy costs, distribution and logistics costs to compensate the fall in prices.
According to Indocement, domestic cement consumption grew by 3.3% in 2014, slower than the 5.5% growth seen in 2014, as the election year led to the postponement of a number of projects. Kartawijaya predicted that the number would grow to 3.5% until the end of the second quarter of 2015. In 2014, Indonesia's cement oversupply was 7Mt. This is expected to rise to 15Mt in 2015. "The demand slowdown will continue until the end of the second quarter if the government does not begin large-scale infrastructure projects," said Kartawijaya. The Indonesia Cement Association (ASI) has predicted that the Indonesian cement industry would see an increase of 6% in 2015 due to the government's large-scale projects, including new toll roads, railways, deep seaports and water dams.
Indocement has allocated US$344m in capital expenditure (capex) for 2015, higher than last year's US$298m. The capex will be used to finish its new US$153m plant in Pati, Central Java, while the rest would be invested in its gas turbine projects. Kartawijaya said that the new plant in Pati would start operating in the fourth quarter of 2015 and is expected to have 4.4Mt/yr of cement production capacity, boosting the firm's annual capacity up to 25Mt/yr.
Philippines: Cemex has announced that it is undertaking a new US$300m investment in the Philippines. The new investment will include the construction of a new 1.5Mt/yr integrated cement production line at its Solid Plant in Luzon. This will double the capacity of the Solid plant and will represent a 25% increase in its cement capacity in the Philippines.
"We see a positive outlook in the business environment and we are committed to be a reliable cement supplier given the growing need for high quality building materials required for public infrastructure, commercial projects and housing," said Fernando A Gonzalez CEO of Cemex.
Earlier this month, Cemex Philippines officially inaugurated the completed capacity expansion in its APO plant in Cebu, as well as a network of logistics centres in Visayas and Mindanao. The US$80m investment increased Cemex's cement production capacity in its APO plant by 40% and helped improve distribution capabilities with additional terminals in Iloilo and Davao.
"We are preparing our facilities for the increasing demand in the Philippines, reiterating our commitment to supporting the development of the country," said Joaquin Estrada, president of Cemex Asia. "We endeavour to be a partner of the Philippine government and the business community in ensuring growth and progress."
In addition, Cemex Philippines has set up a US$18.6m waste heat recovery (WHR) unit that will capture the excess heat in one of its cement production facilities to produce usable electricity. Cemex Philippines already uses alternative fuels like rice husks and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) as part of its fuel mix to minimise energy costs.