Displaying items by tag: Colombia
Details of Cemex’s new Colombian cement plant revealed
02 September 2014Colombia: The president of Cemex Colombia, Carlos Jacks, has provided details of the US$340m plant the company plans to build in Maceo, Antioquia Department. The plant will be the first that Cemex constructs entirely from scratch outside of Mexico; in the past it has simply expanded existing plants abroad. The plant will increase Cemex's Colombian production capacity from 4.50Mt/yr to 5.50Mt/yr.
The plant will be able to use 50% of alternative fuels, either biomass or tyre residue, although initially the plant will use coal. Maceo has been chosen due to its central location in reference to the Prosperidad roads, which will connect it well with the rest of the country.
The plant has great potential due to the 4G road projects, which require US$26bn of investments from 2016. As cement makes up 10% of the investment costs, this means US$520m will be spent on 2Mt of cement each year. When combined with Colombia's established cement market, demand in the country will reach around 14Mt/yr.
Mexico's Cemex to build new cement plant in Colombia
15 August 2014Colombia: Cemex has announced that it will begin construction of a US$340m cement plant in Colombia. The first phase of the project includes construction of a new grinding mill that will begin to produce cement in the second quarter of 2015. The rest of the plant will be completed in the second half of 2016.
"We are proud to contribute to the development of Colombia and wish to continue to be a long-term partner on its path to a prosperous, sustainable future," said Cemex's CEO, Fernando Gonzalez. The investment by Cemex Latam Holdings is expected to boost production capacity in Colombia from 4.5Mt/yr to nearly 5.5Mt/yr.
The plant will be built in the north-western Colombian province of Antioquia, a region with high economic-growth levels. It is expected to create 1000 direct jobs in the construction phase and around 300 jobs once operations begin.
Colombia: Cementos Argos has reported an 87% increase in its net profits for the second quarter of 2014. This was driven by the positive behaviour in its main markets, most notably in the US, as well as an organisational excellence plan that has allowed the company to improve efficiency in various aspects.
Corporate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the second quarter of 2014 rose to US$142m, some 11% more than in the same period in 2013. EBITDA for the first half of 2014 reached US$272m, despite non-recurring expenses of US$20m that mainly stemmed from recent acquisitions. After integrating the cement and concrete assets that were acquired in Honduras, the US and French Guiana, consolidated revenues for the quarter grew by 18%, while cement sales volumes rose by 9.3%.
"The results that were recorded for this second quarter came from a solid demand in most of the geographies in which we operate," said Jorge Mario Velásquez, Argos' CEO. "It is especially satisfactory to see the recovery of profitability in the United States, the successful integration of the company's recent acquisitions and the strategic advantage that Argos draws from the fact that it operates in 12 countries that have dynamic markets and different economic cycles."
In the US its EBITDA generated during this second quarter of 2014 was nearly twice as high as the EBITDA recorded for the whole of 2013. The country's performance was driven by increasing sales volumes during the first half of 2014, with an upturn of 59% for cement dispatch.
In Colombia, cement sales volumes increased by 3% and revenues amounted to more than US$604m for the first half of 2014, which was a result similar to 2013. During this period, Cementos Argos recorded a bigger increase in sales of the bulk cement segment and in concrete dispatching, as well as positive trends in housing construction, thanks to the approval of an increased number of building permits and the continuation of mortgage subsidies.
In the Caribbean and Central American Regional Division, revenues rose by 20% and EBITDA improved by 38% in the first half of 2014, reflecting the positive effect of including the results of the plant in Honduras and of the cement grinding plant in French Guiana.
Sweden/Colombia: Swedish engineering firm SKF has signed a three-year deal with Cementos Argos to provide engineering products and services for its operations in Colombia. SKF will provide everything from bearings, housings and seals to training and application engineering, to support Argos' operations in 10 plants throughout the country. Argos has expanded the scope of the agreement to include seals and more bearing products than SKF had supplied previously.
"SKF has an extensive partnership to support Argos in maximising the utilisation and reliability of its assets, thereby achieving its business objectives," said Vartan Vartanian, President, SKF Industrial Market, Regional Sales and Service. The deal expands SKF's existing contract for maintenance services, mechanical services, reliability engineering services and condition monitoring solutions for conveyors, gearboxes and mills at four of Cementos Argos' plants in Colombia.
Cemex Energy will be launched shortly
20 June 2014Colombia: Cemex, via its Colombian subsidiary Cemex Colombia, will launch a new business division called Cemex Energy. The initial objective is to reach energy self-sufficiency and it will also sell any excess energy generated to the national electricity system.
At present, Cemex generates 41MW of energy that covers 65% of its needs, via hydropower (12MW) and thermal and natural gas plants (29MW). Cemex's announcement follows the approval of renewable energy legislation in the country, which allows companies to participate in this area. Cemex added that energy self-sufficiency signifies major savings in relation to market tariffs. It plans to focus on biogas and wind power schemes, potentially requiring investments of US$50m during the next five years.
Colombia: Cemex is pursuing alternative energy sources, including landfill biogas, wind and solar energy, for its operations in Colombia. It has planned some US$50m of projects for the next five years. The company will look for partners among financial entities and investment funds, according to Edgar Angeles, Cemex's vice president of operations for Central, South America and the Caribbean.
Since the elaboration of Colombia's law on renewable energy, Cemex has been studying projects of this type. The law allows companies to invest in their own power supply and to sell any surplus on the wholesale market. Cemex wants to guarantee 100% of its power supply, compared to 65% now. It already has three small hydroelectric stations and a gas-fired plant in Colombia's Junin, Bucaramanga and Ibague municipalities.
Colombia: Cementos Argos has reported that the acquisition of cement and concrete assets in Honduras and Florida and the recovery of the US construction market have resulted in 51.7% growth in net profits, from US$4.00m in the first quarter of 2013 to US$6.07m in the first quarter of 2014. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up by 12% and income grew by 18% compared with the same period of 2013. Cement sales in the US grew by 27%, while sales in the Caribbean and Central America grew by 27% in value and 11% in volume.
Colombia: Jose Alberto Velez, president of Cementos Argos group, says that 2014 will be a year of integrating the assets acquired in 2013 in Honduras and the United States for the Colombian firm. Further acquisitions would only be considered as of 2015. He stressed that the US$720m purchase of Vulcan Materials needs time to be digested, as well cement assets in Honduras costing above US$250m.
Velez has forecast a growing cement demand in 2014 that Cementos Argos will strive to meet in the US, Central America and the Caribbean, while in Colombia new infrastructure concessions will also increase cement and concrete sales.
During 2013, Cementos Argos had sales of 11.4Mt of cement, up by 5% on 2012. Income grew by 13.4% to US$376m and profits reached US$13.9m. Cementos Argos is also earmarking investments of US$200m in 2014 for various projects, including the start up of a US$35m cement distribution centre in Cartagena, in addition to the expansion and modernisation of several plants in Rio Claro, El Cairo and Nare costing US$100m.
Colombia launches competition probe into cement industry
18 December 2013Colombia: Colombia's Superintendent of Industry and Commerce (SIC) has launched an investigation into possible anti-competitive behaviour within the cement industry. According to the regulator, the investigation relates to alleged 'sustained and unjustified increases in the price of cement since January 2010.'
In 2008 the regulator issued fines in excess of US$1m to cement firms for involvement in a market sharing agreement. Cementos Argos has denied involvement in price fixing or market sharing.
Cemex opens new cement plant in Colombia
22 November 2013Colombia: Mexican cement maker Cemex has opened its fifth plant in Clemencia, Colombia. The US$50m plant in northern Colombia has a cement production capacity of 0.45Mt/yr.
Cemex plans to begin building its sixth plant in Colombia at the start of 2014 with a US$125m investment. The construction is expected to last 24 months and have a cement production capacity of 0.50Mt/yr.
Cemex foresees strong growth in the Colombian market, specifically in infrastructure, as President Juan Manuel Santos has been investing heavily in roads, ports, railways and airports, with some US$25bn invested in the past four years.