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Costa Rica: Cemex and Holcim have appealed against the Ministry of Finance, Industry and Trade (MEIC) over new certification requirements. Cemex has explained that its cement has been accredited since 2005 and it presented all necessary documentation on 10 April 2015 following a request from the MEIC. Cemex believes that government authorities have made a series of errors in their procedures and asked for the necessary corrections, according to local media.
Holcim Costa Rica has made assurances that it adheres to technical requirements and every year the national technical standards institute (Inteco) certifies its cement. Holcim will appeal against the government decision for new certification. Cement importer Sinocem has not appealed against this resolution, so it will have to present its certification in six months.
Europe: CRH has been approved by the European Commission as a purchaser of assets in the European Union from Lafarge and Holcim. CRH has also received from the European Commission the clearance for the acquisition of these assets. These divestments remain subject to the completion of the merger between Lafarge and Holcim, including a successful public exchange offering to Lafarge's shareholders and approval by Holcim's shareholders.
In France Holcim and Lafarge are divesting all of Holcim's assets, except for its Altkirch cement plant and aggregates and ready-mix sites in the Haut-Rhin region, and a grinding station of Lafarge in Saint-Nazaire. Lafarge's assets on Reunion island are being sold except for its shareholding in Ciments de Bourbon. All of Lafarge's assets are also being sold in Germany and Romania. Lafarge Tarmac assets in the UK are being sold with the exception of its Cauldon and Cookstown plants and certain associated assets. In Hungary all of Holcim's operating assets are being divested and it is selling its assets in Slovakia.
Surplus cement supply stabilises prices in Egypt 27 April 2015
Egypt: Cement producers have decided to keep the prices of cement 'stable' for the fifth consecutive month, Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy has announced. Medhat Stephanos, head of cement companies at the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FDI), said the supply surplus is behind the price stability, according to local media.
Hanafy stated that 854,000t had been produced for the current month and that the total amount of supplied cement was 1.86Mt. Around 818,000t of cement were distributed in the local market and around 500,000t were exported between 9 and 15 April. Staphanos added to Daily News Egypt that the country's cement production capacity has increased following the introduction of coal as a source of energy, which reduced the energy problem that faced producers.
"We expected more activity in the processes of construction but those expectations were not met," said Stephanos. "Some projects were expected to start but have not started yet."
UltraTech Cement profit falls by 24% to US$103 in Q4 27 April 2015
India: UltraTech Cement has reported a 24% drop year-on-year in consolidated net profit at US$103m for the fourth quarter of 2014 - 15, mainly due to a US$18.5m fine imposed by the Competition Commission of India for cartel accusations. This compared to a US$136m net profit for the same period in the 2013-14 year. Turnover rose by 4.47% to US$1.04bn for the fourth quarter from US$993m.
During the quarter, the company commissioned a 2Mt/yr cement plant and a 10MW waste heat recovery system in Rajasthan, and a 6MW waste heat recovery system in Karnataka.
For the financial year that ended on 31 March 2015, the Indian cement producer reported a 4.88% drop year-on-year in its net profit to US$330m. Its turnover rose by 12.5% to US$3.83m. Cement and clinker sale of grey cement rose to 44.9Mt during the year from 41.5Mt in 2013 – 14. White cement sales rose slightly to 1.22Mt from 1.14Mt. The company raised its cement production capacity to 60.2Mt/yr during the 2014 – 15 financial year after it acquired cement plants from the Jaypee Group.
"With the focus on development of the infrastructure and housing sector, the company is positioned across the country to meet the rise in demand and participate in the next phase of growth in the country," said UltraTech Cement in a statement.
Global Cement marks presence at IEEE-IAS/PCA 2015 Cement Industry Technical Conference 27 April 2015
Canada: Global Cement has taken centre-stage for delegates registering at the IEEE-IAS/PCA 2015 Cement Industry Technical Conference with copies of the April 2015 issue on offer. The conference runs from 26 – 30 April 2015 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel in Toronto, Canada.
Delegates attending the IEEE-IAS/PCA 2015 can keep informed about the conference cement plant tour by reading a feature interview with the team who run St Marys Bowmanville. The plant tour is scheduled to take place on Thursday 30 April. The April 2015 issue of Global Cement Magazine also includes a country feature on the Canadian cement industry.