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Lafarge’s Czech sales increase but profit falls 03 July 2018
Czech Republic: Lafarge Cement’s sales in Czechia increased by almost 7% to Euro38.2m in 2017 but its profit dropped by 25% to Euro5.9m, according to spokeswoman Milena Hucanova.
Czech construction registered only moderate growth in 2017, which was reflected in the company's sales. Operating profit was comparable with the level from 2016.
"The company's net profit was mainly as a consequence of changes in the volume and appraisal of inventories, higher consumption of carbon credits and the firming up of the Koruna / Euro (exchange) rate after the Czech National Bank’s interventions," said CFO Jan Mencl.
Investments by the company in 2018 are planned to amount to Euro3.8m. Hucanova said that half of this had already been spent on the conversion of an electrostatic precipitator to a baghouse at the company’s Čížkovice plant.
Kenya: Bamburi Cement has completed construction of a new US$40m production line at its grinding plant in Nairobi. The new unit will allow the company to start manufacturing two new high strength products that were previously only produced at its Mombasa plant, according to the Kenya Broadcasting Association. The new line increases the plant’s cement production capacity by 0.9Mt/yr to 2.4Mt/yr.
Sudanese government to support cement exports 02 July 2018
Sudan: Musa Mohamed Karama, the Minister of Industry, says that government is keen to remove all obstacles facing the cement industry including a block on exports. The announcement follows a meeting with Mohamed Abdullah, the UAE-based chairman of Berber Cement Company, according to the Sudan News Agency. The country’s cement production capacity exceeds its domestic consumption.
Colombia: Édgar Ramírez Martínez, the former vice president of planning for Cemex, will be detained in prison as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the acquisition of land at Maceo in Antioquia for the construction of a cement plant. The prosecutor’s court has also issued a detention ticket for Camilo González Téllez, former vice president of planning for Cemex Colombia, who is currently in the US, according to Noticias Financieras. Eugenio Correa Díaz, the former representative of CI Calizas y Minerales, which sold the property to the cement producer, will also be detained.
The former employees of Cemex allegedly paid over US$13m to Correa, despite being aware of the fact that the property was in the process of being expropriated over unpaid taxes.
Colombia: Cemex Colombia, LG and the mayor of Ibague say that they have started technical economic and legal studies studies to support building a solar plant near Ibague in Tolima. The unit will supply energy to the Caracolito cement plant and lighting systems in the nearby city, according to Valora Analitik. The solar plant will be located on a 56-hecatre site owned by the Mayor’s Office on the Doima - Buenos Aires highway.