Displaying items by tag: Cementos Pacasmayo

UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) reports that it continues to grow, with the addition of several new member companies from Europe, South America and Asia. In August 2018 there were six new members: Buzzi Unicem, Cementos Argos, Cementos Pacasmayo, Çimsa Çimento, SCG Cement and Titan Cement. The GCCA also welcomed the US Portland Cement Association (PCA) as an Affiliate.

Albert Manifold, GCCA President (and CEO of CRH) said, “We are delighted to welcome further cement and concrete companies and like-minded organisations to the GCCA. The GCCA was set up to provide the authoratitive global voice for this essential sector. With every new member, the voice becomes even stronger.”

The new members and affiliates join 10 existing member companies: Cemex, CNBM, CRH, Dangote Cement, Eurocement, HeidelbergCement, LafargeHolcim, Taiheiyo Cement, UltraTech Cement and Votorantim. Further applications for member and affiliate status have been received and are being processed.

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo’s sales revenue grew by 7.5% year-on-year to US$184m in the first half of 2018 from US$171m in the same period in 2017. Its production of cement rose by 3.9% to 1.08Mt from 1.04Mt and clinker production rose by 15.9% to 0.87Mt from 0.75Mt. Its consolidated earnings before interest taxation depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 12.2% to US$54.7m from US$48.7m.

The cement producer said that, despite growth, it felt that the pace was lower than its expectations. Infrastructure reconstruction in the north of the country had suffered delays and self-construction has grown at lower rates than expected. It party blamed this on the country’s qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup as funding was focused on ‘soccer-related categories.’

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo has seen its sales volumes of cement, concrete and blocks rise by 7.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2018, primarily due to increased sales volume of cement to the public sector and the self-construction segment. Its revenues increased by 12.8%, also due to higher cement sales, as well as an average cement price increase.

Cementos Pacasmayo’s net income was US$9.22m, a 37.3% increase, mainly due to higher sales and operating profit. Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$29.2m.

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayso has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of and the full year 2017.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, sales volumes of cement, concrete and blocks increased by 7.3%, primarily due to increased sales volumes to the self-construction segment and to a pick up in public sector spending. The company’s cement-based earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 13.9% to US$32.3m, but consolidated EBITDA decreased by 35.7% due to a write-off in a water-desalination project.

For the full year, sales of cement, concrete and blocks decreased by 0.8%, despite the significant decline in sales volume during the first four months of the year due to the effects of the El Niño. It is important to note that year-on-year sales volume has increased steadily every month, from May 2017 through to the end of the year. Cement EBITDA for the year reached US$114.9m, a decrease of only 2.2%, despite the aforementioned detrimental El Niño effects on both sales and costs.

Data from the Peruvian cement association (ASOCEM) presents a potential bounce in the fortunes of the local industry in March 2017. Cement production rose slightly year-on-year to 0.79Mt. This is the first monthly rise since July 2016. The first quarter of 2017 as a whole is down by 4.5% year-on-year to 2.35Mt but any fillip is surely welcome.

Graph 1: Cement production in Peru, 2012 – 2016. Source: ASOCEM.

Graph 1 shows that production peaked in 2014. Although it has fallen since then it is still above the level in 2012. Cementos Pacasmayo blamed the overall fall in 2016 on a strong end to 2015 associated with El Niño prevention investments although, given that its production volumes also fell in 2015, albeit slightly, it may be being optimistic in its analysis. It also blamed the widening fallout from the Brazilian Petrobras corruption scandal for delaying investment by the Peruvian government on an infrastructure drive.

Graph 2: Cement and clinker imports to Peru, 2014 – 2016. Source: ASOCEM/SUNAT.

Another point to examine in ASOCEM’s latest release is the import figures as can be seen in Graph 2. Overall cement and clinker import volumes have hovered around 10 – 15% of local production but the ratios have changed since 2014, with a focus on ground cement. Cementos Pacasmayo provided one possible reason in its fourth quarter report for 2016 with the news that it had started replacing imported clinker with its own clinker as it increased production at its new Piura plant. Most of this cement has been coming from Vietnam through 2015 and 2016. Coincidentally, Vietnam’s General Department of Vietnam Customs has reported this week that local exports of cement and clinker are up by 11% to 4.82Mt for the first quarter of 2017 and that Peru is one of the top destinations. Also of note in February 2017 was a significant cement import of 30,800t from China following no imports from that country in 2016 and most of 2015.

Recent production and import trends aside, the Peruvian cement industry’s industry base hasn’t changed much since last time this column coved it (GCW183, January 2015). The country has three main producers – UNACEM, Cementos Pacasmayo and Grupo Gloria – who operate 49%, 43% and 8% respectively of the local 11.4Mt/yr production capacity. They each operate production units in north-south geographical bands in the country with Pacasmayo in the north, UNACEM in the central coastal region near to Lima and Gloria’s subsidiaries in the south.

As mentioned above, Cementos Pacasmayo has been increasing production at its newer Piura plant since mid-2015. Gloria Group purchased Cementos Otorongo, a project to build a cement plant in the south, from Votorantim in mid-2016 and Cemex was reported as having gained government approval for a grinding plant project in Lima in early 2016. On the financial side, UNACEM’s income fell by 4% to US$573m in 2016. Cementos Pacasmayo’s sales fell slightly to US$381m and its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for its cement operations fell by 4.6% to US$118m.

Like lots of African countries the outlook for the construction industry in Peru is good in the medium term with plenty of scope for development and a growing economy despite a contraction of 6% in the construction industry in 2016. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate hit a low of 2.4% in 2014 but it has since started to pick up again. Once or if the Kuczynski administration starts spending on infrastructure then all the signs should point to growth in the cement industry. Given the amount of clinker sloshing around the world if any producers actually start opening terminals or grinding plants this would suggest they are confident of a return on investment.

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo’s net income rose by 12.1% year-on-year to US$60.4m in 2015 from US$53.8m in 2014. Its revenue fell slightly to US$351m from US$354m. Its cement production volumes fell slightly by 0.7% to 2.3Mt from 2.35Mt.

The cement producer attributed its profit growth to cost savings despite a ‘challenging’ operating environment. It managed to hold its cement production volumes at a stable level due to the ramping up of its Piura cement plant in the fourth quarter of 2015 despite falling volumes at its Pacasmayo and Rioja cement plants.

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo has begun commercial production from its new Piura cement plant. According to the company, the Piura plant will be the most modern cement plant in Latin America and features a multi-fuel kiln. Its final capacity will be 1.6Mt/yr of cement and 1Mt/yr of clinker.

"I am delighted to announce the beginning of commercial operations at the Piura plant, an important milestone for Cementos Pacasmayo and the Peruvian cement industry," said Humberto Nadal, CEO of Cementos Pacasmayo. "Piura will offer our clients high-quality cement, with improved logistics, while simultaneously lowering our cost of production. We continue to execute this project on time and under budget, demonstrating our expertise in large-scale, advanced facilities. We look forward to moving the plant along its production curve, creating value for all stakeholders."

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo has announced that, its consolidated earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 6.4% to US$28m in the second quarter of 2015. Its net income rose by 8% to US$13.9m, but its revenues fell by 8.8%. The company said that its second quarter results were impacted by continued weakness in cement demand from the public sector. This led to a 9.4% reduction in cement sales volumes and also reduced its EBITDA, excluding US$2.76m of income from the sale of a real estate asset.

In the first six months of 2015, Cementos Pacasmayo's consolidated EBITDA increased by 8.4% to US$55.9m, its net income grew by 19.4% to US$30.3m and its revenues fell by 6%. Despite lower year-on-year cement volumes, its gross margin was 43.1%, up from 40.5% in the first half of 2014, thanks to an increased focus on efficiency and cost reductions.

Cementos Pacasmayo announced that its US$386m Piura plant had reached the final stage of construction, with cement production set to begin in the third quarter of 2015 and clinker production in the fourth quarter of 2015. The plant will reach 60% capacity by the end of 2015, a level which the company has established as the optimal capacity utilisation given the current conditions in the Peruvian cement market.

Looking ahead, independent forecasts point towards a recovery in Peruvian infrastructure spending. Local government spending improved slightly late in the second quarter of 2015, this trend is expected to continue through the second half of 2015, while the self-construction market is expected to remain at or near its current level. Cementos Pacasmayo expects its full-year cement volumes to be similar to those of 2014.

Peru: Unacem has boosted its first half net income by 23% on higher prices and lower costs, according to Business News Americas.

Unacem posted a US$47.8m profit and its sales rose by 6% year-on-year to US$896m in the first half of 2015. The company cut its operating costs by 8% in the first half of 2015 and its sales costs by 2.1%. Cement production fell by 1.6% to 2.71Mt in the first half of 2015, while clinker production fell by 6.3% to 2.58Mt. Exports jumped by 36.6% to 590,863t during the period.

Unacem, which competes in Peru with companies including Cementos Pacasmayo and Gloria Group's Cementos Yura, said that it increased its domestic market share to 51.2% in the first half of 2015 from 49.9%. Unacem expects to benefit from a growing contribution from its US$553m acquisition in 2014 from Lafarge Ecuador.

Unacem has 7.6Mt/yr of installed cement capacity. Peru's cement production rose by 1.4% to 10.7Mt in 2014, according to cement producers' association Asocem. Exports from Peru rose by 37.4% to 306,277t in the same period.

If you ever visit Lima be sure to try the wonton soup! One of the surprises of the Peruvian capital is the large number of Chinese restaurants. Peru has one of the largest proportions of inhabitants of Chinese-descent in Latin America. This adds a spoonful of historical context to this week's news of China's Jidong Development Group's intentions to buy Cementos Interoceanicos. It is one of a few stories affirming Peru's growth in recent years, although this trend may be changing.

The major Chinese producer is acquiring a cement plant with mineral rights that was first proposed in 2008. Originally the 1.6Mt/yr plant was budgeted at US$250m with construction set to start in 2009 and production intended to start in early 2011. At the time company executive director Armando Belfiore told local press that reserves of 700Mt of limestone and 390Mt of pozzolan exist in the Macusani, Ajoyani and Potoni districts in the Carabaya province of Puno. Subsequent plans were to develop lime and calcium carbide also. However, at present the project still appears to be in the development phase. No doubt Chinese money will be very welcome.

Meanwhile Peru's local producers have steadily been making their own progress towards becoming regional players in their own right. In December 2014 Union Andina de Cementos (Unacem) completed its purchase of Lafarge's cement assets in Ecuador. The US$517m deal included a 1.4Mt/yr cement plant in Otavalo. This followed Holding Cementero del Peru, a subsidiary of Gloria which operates Cementos Yura, paying US$300m to buy up to 98.4% in Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (Soboce), Bolivia's largest cement producer. Media analysts have predicted that Cementos Pacasmayo is also likely to expand internationally once it has finished its local projects.

Internally, each of the major Peruvian cement producers has its own projects. Unacem is investing US$374m on its Atocongo and Condorcocha plants between 2014 and 2018, with a focus on the cement mill, the development of the Carpapata III hydroelectricity project and the construction of bagging facilities in Condorcocha. Cementos Yura targeted US$50m towards machinery and equipment at its Yura plant near Arequipa. Cementos Pacasmayo's new US$385m cement plant at Piura is due to start operation in the second half of 2015. The new plant in northwest Peru will have a production capacity of 1.6Mt/yr of cement and 1Mt/yr of clinker.

Cement production in Peru has slowed since 2012 when the country saw production rise by 16% year-on-year to 9.85Mt. 2013 saw production rise by 6% to 10.5Mt. Currently released figures from the association of cement manufacturers in Peru (Asocem) to November 2014 suggest that this growth has continued to fall to 1.5% year-on-year.

Cementos Pacasmayo reported in its third quarter report for 2014 that the Peruvian economy had experienced a slowdown during the first nine months of the year although it was expected to recover in the final quarter and beyond due to impending infrastructure projects and spending. Given Peru's continued growth in gross domestic product (GDP), Jidong, Pacasmayo and Peru's other cement producers could do worse than order a nice bowl of wonton soup while they wait and see what happens.