Global Cement News

Mexico: Cemex has forecast full-year earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$3.10bn in 2021, up by 26% year-on-year from US$2.46bn in 2020. The forecast figure is 7% higher than its previous prediction of US$2.90bn in its first quarter 2021 earnings call. The company said that it expects the double-digit growth to continue into 2022. It said that in 2023 and estimated US$400m of additional EBITDA will come from bolt-on investments and its on-going 10Mt/yr cement capacity expansion.

Vietnam: Vietnamese first-half cement production is estimated to have risen by 8% year-on-year to 51.1Mt in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The Viet Nam News newspaper has reported that June 2021 cement production was 10% higher than that in June 2020, at 9.1Mt. Vietnam’s full-year cement production in 2020 was 100Mt.

Colombia: The Colombian prosecution service intends to summon former Cemex Colombia chief executive officer (CEO) Carlos Jacks to face charges in relation to the Maceo cement plant corruption case. Jacks was CEO of the company for 24 years and previously headed Cemex operations in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, according to the Noticias Caracol television channel. A statement made by Camilo González Téllez, the former Legal Vice President, has been used by the prosecutor’s office to press charges against Jacks. So far González is the only senior Cemex executive to have received a custodial sentence in relation to the affair.

In 2016 Cemex fired several senior staff members in relation to the Maceo project and its subsidiary’s chief executive resigned. This followed an internal audit and investigation into payments worth around US$20m made to a non-governmental third party in connection with the acquisition of the land, mining rights and benefits of the tax free zone for the project. Legal proceedings followed in Colombia and the US.

Ghana: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agents and police have raided China-based Empire Cement’s McCarthy Hills cement plant in Accra. The Ghana News Agency has reported that the facility had entered cement production without a licence. The authorities stopped operations at the site and dismissed the staff, including Chinese nationals. Previously, local residents had complained about potential environmental concerns at the site.

India: The Andhra Pradesh branch of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved Sagar Power’s resolution plan for the start of operations at the mothballed Panyam cement plant at Kurnool. Sagar Power intends to pay US$13.5m, together with RV Consulting Services, to settle the debts from the plant’s previous owners, according to the Times of India newspaper. The partners also plan to inject a further US$20.2m of fresh capital into the venture.