13 October 2015
Russia: Eurocement's Akhangarancement plant produced 164,000t of cement and 127,205t of clinker in August 2015, 2.5% and 12.2% year-on-year rises respectively. The plant shipped 164,863t of cement to in August 2015, a 1.2% year-on-year rise.
The most popular types of cement in August 2015 were PC 400-D20 (Portland cement of grade 400 with active mineral additives accounting for more than 5 - 20%, SPC 400 (Slag Portland cement of grade 400 with active mineral additives accounting for 20 - 80%), PC 400-KD20 (Portland cement of grade 400 with composite additives accounting for 10 - 20%). The share of these types of cement was 91.8%, up from 75.1% in August 2014.
Raysut Cement’s third quarter net profit falls by 8.5% 13 October 2015
Oman: Raysut Cement has reported an 8.5% decrease in its net profit in the third quarter of 2015, according to Reuters. The company made US$12.6m in the three months that ended on 30 September 2015, compared with US$13.7m in the same period of 2014. Two analysts polled by Reuters have forecast that Raysut Cement would make a quarterly net profit of US$10.9 – 11.1m.
Eurocement President inspects Leningrad region plants 13 October 2015
Russia: Eurocement President Mikhail Skorokhod visited several key cement plants in the Leningrad region recently.
Key performance indicators of Peterburgcement were evaluated positively at the end of August 2015. "The company shows strong growth and consistently high product quality. This is the result of the work of a highly professional close-knit team. Today, the team is facing new tasks and new challenges and it is planned to reach the historical record and produce 1.86Mt of cement in 2016," said Mikhail Skorokhod. Reducing costs and consistently high product quality, according to Skorokhod, will allow Peterburgcement to increase its market share in the Leningrad and neighbouring areas and reduce imports of inferior quality cement from neighbouring countries.
During his visit, Skorokhod appointed Dmitry Zibaev as the new Peterburgcement plant CEO. Skorokhod said that Dmitry Zibaev has considerable experience in the industry and in-depth knowledge of all processes of cement production. Dmitry Zibaev graduated from Belgorod State University of Technology. He started his career as a Maintenance Foreman in Lafarge Cement. He moved from Mechanical Engineer to the Deputy General Director of Peterburgcement.
Skorokhod also inspected the production process at Pikalevskiy Cement plant during his visit to the Leningrad region. He set the task to increase control over the quality of clinker. "Pikalevskiy Cement has high trust and reputation among customers and clients. The plant staff should not only meet the customers' expectations, but also raise the bar," said Skorokhod. He expressed the view that the decision taken recently by the Russian Government to introduce mandatory certification of cement will set the barrier to low-quality and counterfeit basic construction material and it will lead to higher work level of the plant. Technical Engineers of Pikalevskiy Cement have improved the clinker quality in recent months. Talking about the construction of a new dry line at the plant, Skorokhod said that the company intends to consistently implement its modernisation programme at its plants.
Steppe Cement’s third quarter revenue and sales volumes up 13 October 2015
Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has disclosed a rise in its third quarter 2015 revenue and sales volume. Its revenue rose to US$28.2m compared with US$27.8m in the same period of 2014. Some 630,329t of cement was sold during the third quarter of 2015, up by 8% year-on-year. For the nine months that ended on 30 September 2015, Steppe Cement's revenue fell to US$58.3m from US$60.9m in the same period of 2014.
Mozambique: Cimentos da Beira, the newest cement producer in Mozambique, plans to export some of its cement to neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi, in addition to supplying the domestic market, according to the Managing Director of the company, Wouter Trollip.
The plant, with an installed cement production capacity of 800,000t/yr, is expected to start operating later in October 2015, after tests of the substation that will supply electricity are complete. Trollip said that the plant already has 40,000t of clinker in stock in order to start cement production as soon as the power supply is guaranteed. With British and South African investment of US$45m, Cimentos da Beira employs 70 workers. Sofala Province now has three cement plants, including Cimentos de Moçambique and the recent Austral Ciment, an Austrian investment, both located in Dondo.
Dangote Cement launches US$600m Tanzanian cement plant 13 October 2015
Tanzania: With its cement plants across Africa undergoing expansion and new investments in Asia, Dangote Cement has unveiled plans to attain a production capacity of 81Mt/yr before 2020, as it commissions its US$600m plant in Tanzania.
The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said that the company is currently consolidating its cement businesses across Africa to reap the benefits of scale, adding that its operational offshore cement plants have started to make substantial contributions to group revenue. Dangote added that the pan-African drive will aid the company's plan to do a listing in London and Johannesburg in the near future, with an intention to consolidate the cement assets into one company that will have the scale and resources to compete globally.
Speaking at the commissioning of Tanzanian cement plant in Mtwara, Dangote explained the choice of Tanzania for investment, stating that the existing supply gap has been inadequate in meeting local demand, while noting the need to boost export supply in the eastern Africa regional bloc.
"The construction sector is a major emerging component of the Tanzanian economy that has been receiving the attention of investors. This makes it an ideal market for cement production. The existing cement manufacturers have historically been unable to satisfy local demand, which has been filled by imports. As essential economy-driven infrastructure continues to be built to improve electricity supply and the transport network, additional demand for cement can be expected. The Dangote Cement investment will certainly contribute to Tanzania's on-going story of infrastructure development, job creation and broad economic development. Our strategy is to invest in countries that offer investors attractive returns on investment as well as provide them with an enabling environment to operate. It is our sincere belief that our US$600m investment in Tanzania will further speed up infrastructural development and complement the government's efforts in stimulating economic growth and creating jobs. When in full production, this plant will make Tanzania self-sufficient in cement, with a lot of cement for export to neighbouring countries," said Dangote.