Displaying items by tag: Clinker
India: India Cements’ fourth-quarter sales were US$183m in its 2022 financial year, which ended on 31 March 2022, down by 4% year-on-year from US$190m in the corresponding quarter of the 2021 Indian financial year. The producer’s net loss was US$1.37m, as against a first-quarter 2021 financial year net profit of US$6.47m. During the quarter, the company’s cement sales volumes fell by 1.4% to 2.63Mt from 2.67Mt, while its clinker sales volumes fell by 88% to 38,000t from 324,000t. For the full 2022 financial year, India Cements’ sales of cement rose by 2% to 9.07Mt from 8.9Mt. Coal costs ended the financial year at US$300/t, five times the 31 March 2021 price of US$60/t.
India Cements said “The spiralling prices of fuel, along with the shortage in availability of the same, affected the margins of the industry. The woes of the industry worsened further with the outbreak of Russia's war with Ukraine resulting in sanctions being imposed on Russia and its exports, fuelling further shortage of coal and oil in the market.”
India: UltraTech Cement has successfully commissioned a second clinker line with a capacity of 2.7Mt/yr at its Hirmi cement plant in Chhattisgarh. The company says that it is on track to also commission a new 1.3Mt/yr grinding unit at the plant in mid-2022.
Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo recorded consolidated sales of US$140m in the first quarter of 2022, up by 13% year-on-year from US$124m in the first quarter of 2021. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 21% year-on-year to US$128m from US$105m. The company said that its strong revenue generation enabled earnings growth despite cost increases. Its reliance on imported clinker to meet growing demand increased Cementos Pacasmayo’s exposure to the effects of inflation.
During the quarter, Cementos Pacasmayo produced 882,000t of cement across its three facilities, down by 4.4% year-on-year. The plants’ clinker production rose by 6.7% to 568Mt from 532Mt in the first quarter of 2021.
Germany: HeidelbergCement’s first-quarter sales were Euro4.43bn in the first quarter of 2022, up by 12% year-on-year from Euro3.96bn in the first quarter of 2021. Its cement and clinker sales volumes remained level year-on-year at 28.4Mt. Sales grew in all regions except North America, where they fell by 6% to Euro798m from Euro849m. Cement and clinker sales volumes fell there by 17%, but rose in every other region.
Chair Dominik von Achten said “The first quarter of 2022 was not an easy one for HeidelbergCement. Despite the continuing uncertainties regarding the supply of energy and raw materials and the associated rise in energy prices, we were able to increase our revenue significantly.” Looking to the rest of 2022, von Achten said ”Although there is still a lot of uncertainty concerning energy and raw material availability and costs, we continue to see strong demand for our products in all regions. In particular, demand for sustainable, low-carbon products is growing rapidly.”
Sweden: UK-based Samson Materials Handling is supplying an Eco Hopper product for installation at the Port of Slite in Gotland. The hopper will be designed to receive clinker, limestone, coal and refuse-derived (RDF) fuel pellets. These materials will be unloaded at the quay area via crane grabs. The hopper will then discharge direct to trucks via a telescopic chute.
The Eco Hopper installation under normal operating conditions and based on the client’s grab sizes and cycle time, will achieve peak discharging rates of: 353t/hr - based on clinker with a bulk density of 1.4 t/m³; 454t/hr - based on limestone with a bulk material density range of 1.8 t/m³; and 420t/hr - based on RDF Pellets with a bulk material density of 0.6 t/m³.
The Eco Hopper product design concept comprises of a specialised reception hopper unit incorporating Integral filter arrangement with a reverse jet filter media cleaning system which returns all material back in to the material stream. In addition, the inlet system of the hopper is based on the Samson Flex-Flap design which reduces the volume of air necessary to control dust both from the opening grab and displaced air from material falling into the inner hopper below. This contributes to the reduction of airflow reducing filter and power requirements of the equipment.
Commissioning and operator training will be provided by Aumund Group Field Services.
China: China Resources Cement’s (CRC) turnover fell by 18% year-on-year to US$889m in the first quarter of 2022 from US$1.08bn in the same period in 2021. Its sales volumes of cement, clinker and concrete decreased by 34%, 12% and 23% respectively to 12.2Mt, 0.78Mt and 2.22Mm3 respectively. Its profit dropped by 43% to US$92.9m from US$164m.
Dangote Cement’s operations hit by domestic gas shortages and international freight rates
04 May 2022Nigeria: Dangote Cement sales volumes in the first quarter of 2022 have been hampered by disruptions to gas supplies domestically and by high freight rates restricting its exports of cement and clinker to Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Its sales volumes of cement fell by 3.6% year-on-year to 7.25Mt in the first quarter of 2022 from 7.52Mt in the same period in 2021. Its revenue grew by 24% to US$994m from US$801m. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 18.6% to US$508m from US$428m.
Michael Pucheros, the chief executive officer of Dangote Cement, said “Our group volumes were down 3.6% mainly due to energy supply challenges in Nigeria. Our operations relying on cement and clinker imports – namely Ghana, Sierra-Leone, Cameroon - were impacted by the global supply chain challenges.” Additionally, its operations outside of Nigeria was also negatively affected by a cement plant in Congo being shut for over two months due to maintenance and repairs and extended power plant maintenance in Senegal.
Vicem Hoàng Mai Cement targets US$79.2m in sales in 2022
07 April 2022Vietnam: Vicem Hoàng Mai Cement has announced a full-year sales target of US$79.2m for 2022, down by 1.5% year-on-year from 2021 levels. Its target net profit for the year is US$656,000, more than five times its 2020 figure. The company forecasts cement production of 1.73Mt, up by 11% from 1.56Mt, and clinker production of 1.4Mt, down by 4.1% from 1.46Mt, for the year. It plans to replace 30 – 40% of the natural gypsum currently used in cement production with synthetic gypsum. It will also increase the proportion of ash and slag in its raw materials mix.
The Chúng Khoán newspaper has reported that Vicem Hoàng Mai Cement said that it is experiencing increased costs due to high raw materials and fossil fuel prices. A coal shortage has also disrupted production.
Unacem boosts sales in 2021
31 March 2022Peru: Unacem’s sales were US$655m in 2021, up by 43% year-on-year from US$458m in 2020. It sold US$598m-worth of cement, up by 41% year-on-year from US$425m-worth, and exported US$30.3m of clinker, up by 35% year-on-year from US$22.5m-worth.
The producer said “2020 and 2021 have been years of great challenges for the world and our country because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, the company implemented a plan of measures that has allowed it to cope with this crisis, having as a fundamental pillar ensuring the safety and health of its employees, the sustainability of the company and all its shareholders. Likewise, the Peruvian government continues to take the necessary actions to mitigate the effects of the third wave of Covid-19 as well as to safeguard the payment chain of companies.”
India: Shree Cement has commenced commercial production of clinker with the newly commissioned Kiln 3 of its Raipur cement plant in Chhattisgarh. The kiln has a production capacity of 4Mt/yr.