Displaying items by tag: Brazil
Austria: Australia-based FCT Combustion has appointed Átila Soares as its Sales Manager for Europe and Africa. He will be based at the company’s office in Vienna. Soares previously worked for Aumund Group in Brazil in a variety of roles since 2005. The latest position was as a Sales Manager based in São Paulo. He also holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial (FEI) in Brazil.
South Africa: China-based Huaxin Cement completed its acquisition of Brazil-based InterCement’s South African business on 27 December 2023. MarketScreener News has reported that financial services firm JPMorgan Chase acted as advisor to InterCement. The deal concludes the Brazilian company’s exit from Africa, after it sold its Egyptian and Mozambique businesses earlier in 2023.
Saint-Gobain completes Recife fibre cement products plant expansion
01 December 2023Brazil: France-based Saint-Gobain has completed the construction of a new line at its Recife fibre cement products plant in Pernambuco. The expansion doubles the capacity of the plant to 200,000t/yr, at a cost of US$13.9m. The plant produces fibre cement products for sale under Saint-Gobain’s Brasilit brand.
Brazilian cement sales to fall in 2023 before rising in 2024
30 November 2023Brazil: The Brazilian National Cement Industry Association (SNIC) has forecast a drop of 1% year-on-year in cement consumption in Brazil during 2023. This is due to a slowdown in the residential construction sector, which accounts for 70% of national demand. SNIC forecast a 2% year-on-year rise in cement demand in 2024, due to increased infrastructure activity.
Brazil produced 52Mt of cement during the first 10 months of 2023, down by 2.1%. The country produced 61Mt of cement in 2022, corresponding to a capacity utilisation rate of 65%.
Votorantim Cimentos to issue non-convertible debentures
15 November 2023Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos’ board of directors has approved the issuance of US$180m-worth of non-convertible debentures. The producer says that it will use funds raised thereby as collateral for a financial securitisation operation of real estate receivables.
Votorantim Cimentos records growth in sales in third quarter of 2023
14 November 2023Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos reported US$1.51bn in sales during the third quarter of 2023. This represents a decline of 3% year-on-year. It raised its total volume of cement sales by 1% year-on-year to 10.3Mt. Meanwhile, the group’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 9% to US$1.9bn.
CEO Osvaldo Ayres said “The positive results in both the third quarter and the first nine months of 2023 reinforce our operational leverage and our performance within our strategic mandate, with discipline and resilience. Despite the uncertain global macroeconomic scenario and market challenges, our geographic and product diversification improves the company, to face challenges and be ready to capture good opportunities.”
InterCement may sell Brazilian business
06 October 2023Brazil: InterCement has hired BTG Pactual to help explore ‘capitalisation alternatives’ as part of a proposed restructuring, possibly involving the sale of the group’s Brazilian business. Valor International News has reported that Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) Cimentos has signalled its interest in acquiring the business, while Votorantim Cimentos may group together with other cement companies to make a bid. This would entail a division of the assets in order to conform to Brazilian competition laws.
InterCement successfully secured a postponement for payment of its outstanding bank debt in September 2023. It owes net debt of US$1.5bn up to 2027, including a senior note of US$548m due in May 2024. InterCement operates 12.2Mt/yr worth of cement capacity, and produced 8.7Mt of cement in 2022.
Alan Svaiter elected president of Oficemen
13 September 2023Spain: The Spanish cement association (Oficemen) has elected Alan Svaiter as its president. He will take charge of various cross-sectoral initiatives aimed at helping the local cement industry to meet present and future challenges. These include recovering its higher activity levels and advancing its net zero strategy. He succeeds Cemex’s director general of strategic planning, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, José Manuel Cascajero, in the role.
Svaiter has held the position of chief executive officer (CEO) of Votorantim Cimentos España since January 2018. Prior to that, he worked in Brazil as Votorantim Cimentos’ supply chain director from 2014 and the CEO of its ready-mix concrete subsidiary Engemix from 2010. Earlier, he held management roles at logistics groups VarigLog and Vale.
Stronger August 2023 fails to halt faltering Brazilian demand for cement
08 September 2023Brazil: Data from SNIC, the Brazilian Cement Association, shows that cement sales increased by 1% year-on-year in August 2023 to reach 6Mt. From January to August 2023 however, Brazilian cement sales were once again lower year-on-year, falling by 1% to 41.7Mt.
Across Brazil, construction material sales have been impacted by lower disposable income due to inflation, high interest rates and high household debt. However, the New Growth Acceleration Program, a government initiative launched in August 2023, could be a boon for cement sector. It foresees spending of US$280bn between 2023 and 2026. For highways alone, 269 restoration and construction projects are planned and duplication of roads across the country, an investment that could open up opportunities for the use of more economical road solutions, such as rigid concrete pavement.
“The implementation of infrastructure projects with an emphasis on logistics, sanitation and housing could reverse the negative performance of the cement industry recorded until August 2023. Our expectation is that the positive seasonality in sales in the sector will be confirmed in the second half of the year,” said Paulo Camillo Penna, President of SNIC.
Cimento Gaúcho inaugurates Montenegro grinding plant
25 August 2023Brazil: Cimento Gaúcho has inaugurated its 400,000t/yr Montenegro grinding plant in Rio Grande do Sul. The producer invested US$20.4m in the facility, which will initially produce 100,000t/yr of cement. Besides the local market, Cimento Gaúcho also plans to supply cement from the Montenegro grinding plant to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The El Pais newspaper has reported that the plant will create 30 direct jobs, and a further 120 indirect jobs.
Cimento Gaúcho is a joint venture of Hipermix and Uruguay-based Compañía Industrializadora de Minerales.