18 August 2016
Siemens to launch Sicement Electrification system in Egypt 18 August 2016
Egypt: Siemens will launch its Sicement Electrification system at the Bringing Power to Cement Industry forum in Cairo. The product line is designed to provide electrical distribution and optimisation systems for cement plants including high-voltage electrical substations required for the interconnection with the national grid. All components are coordinated with each other to reduce costs and CO2 emissions.
Rock Hard Cement and Arawak Cement spar in Barbados 18 August 2016
Barbados: Rock Hard Cement, a cement distributor, and local producer Arawak Cement have been arguing publicly over the quality of their respective products. Arawak Cement took out a paid advertisement advised customers in Barbados, Guyana and the Eastern Caribbean that an unnamed rival company’s product was not ‘not of a higher quality, or strength and is not a superior product’ than its own products, according to the Barbados Today newspaper. The cement producer said it has also made a complaint with the Fair Trading Commission regarding alleged misleading claims that Rock Hard Cement has made about its products.
In response Mark Maloney, chief executive of Rock Hard Cement, has accused Arawak Cement of attempting to stop the newcomer entering the local market since November 2015. Since the entry of Rock Hard Cement into the market the price of cement has dropped by 30%. Arawak Cement has attributed this to a restructuring programme and improved plant efficient. Maloney has also accused his rival of trying to register the Rock Hard name outside of Barbados to deter future expansion.
Italy: The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has decided to extend its investigation of the Italian Cement Association (AITEC) and cement producers including Italcementi, Colacem and Sacci. The AGCM has been looking into alleged coordinated increased in cement prices over the past six months. The regulator has now extended its inquiries until May 2017 due to ‘suspicious’ behaviour. The inspections have revealed that simultaneous price rises and similar sales prices communicated to customers in advance has been in practice by the companies being investigated and other players in the sector.
Cementos Argos net income rises by 27% to US$96.5m 18 August 2016
Colombia: Cementos Argos’ net income has risen by 27% year-on-year to US$96.5m in the first half of 2016 from US$75.9m in the same period of 2015. Its revenue rose by 26.5% to US$1.51bn from US$1.20bn and its cement sales volumes rose by 2% to 6.98Mt from 6.84Mt. The company’s growth in revenue was driven by growing sales in the US.
“The disciplined execution of our internationalisation strategy has allowed us to continue obtaining good results, especially in markets such as the US, a country that keeps representing opportunities for Argos’s sustainable growth and that, added to our other geographies’ performance, enables us to continue contributing to the development of the countries and territories where we operate, through the construction of roads, bridges, homes and other projects in which the dreams of millions of people are materialized,” said Juan Esteban Calle, the CEO of Cementos Argos.
By region the cement producer reported that sales volumes fell by 14.8% to 2.92Mt in Colombia along with a slight fall in sales revenue. In the US its cement sales volumes grew by 29% to 2Mt and its sales revenue rose by 19.7% to US$700m. In the company’s Caribbean and Central American division its cement sales volumes rose by 6% to 2.52Mt and its sales revenue rose by 3.7% to US$283m.
US: HeidelbergCement, through its subsidiaries Essroc and Lehigh Hanson, has entered into a definitive agreement with Argos USA, a subsidiary of Cementos Argos, to sell its Martinsburg, West Virginia cement plant and eight related terminals. The disposal was required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address competition concerns arising from its acquisition of Italcementi. The agreement is subject to the approval of the FTC and other customary closing conditions. The transaction purchase price is US$660m on a cash and debt-free basis. HeidelbergCement expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2016.
“With the disposal of the Martinsburg plant we have successfully finalised our disposal programme in the context of the Italcementi acquisition,” said Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “Together with the disposals of the non-core assets and the Belgium assets of Italcementi we have exceeded our Euro1bn target on disposal proceeds and thereby further improved the net financial position of HeidelbergCement.”