30 October 2015
India: HeidelbergCement India has appointed Juan-Francisco Defalque as an Additional Director on the Board of Directors of the Company with immediate effect.
Lucky Cement reports US$28.2m net profit for the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year 30 October 2015
Pakistan: Lucky Cement's net profit rose by 11.2% year-on-year to US$28.2m during the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September 2015. On a consolidated basis, its net profit rose by 13.8% to US$31.3m.
The company's net sales revenue declined by 1.2% to US$98.1m during the quarter. This was primarily attributed to a 2.7% decrease in sales volume, which was partially offset by a 1.5% increase in net retention due to an improved sales mix. Lucky Cement's domestic sales volume grew by 11% to 1.07Mt, whereas export sales volumes fell by 23.2% to 490,000t.
The Board of Directors have also decided to set up a 2.3Mt/yr capacity greenfield cement manufacturing plant in Punjab. The expected project cost is US$200m and construction work is expected to start in the first quarter of the 2016 calendar year. It is expected that plant will become operational in the second quarter of the 2018 calendar year. Lucky Cement also reported progress on its key foreign and local projects; namely an integrated cement plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a 660MW, supercritical, coal-based power project; a 50MW wind farm, electricity supply to the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO); and a waste heat recovery unit at its Pezu power plant.
Semen Indonesia’s cement production to reach 30Mt in 2016 30 October 2015
Indonesia: PT Semen Indonesia's CEO Suparni has predicted that company production will reach 30Mt in 2016 and is optimistic that sales performance will improve in the fourth quarter of 2015 until next year.
"In 2016 we will increase the number by 5%. This year is at 28.6Mt, so it's almost 30Mt," said Suparni. "Starting in August 2015, we recorded an increase that has continued to rise until this day." Since August 2015, the company's plant in Padang, Gresik and Tonasa have begun to achieve maximum utilisation. Suparni also said PT Semen Indonesia has started to supply some infrastructure projects whether for both the government and private companies. "Those projects include tolls, dams and others," said Suparni.
Looking by the numerous infrastructure projects that have been worked on, Suparni predicts that next year's company expenditure will rise by 20 – 25%. He also expects PT Semen Indonesia's earnings to increase by 5 – 6% as prices will increase.