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Displaying items by tag: Cementos Argos
Cementos Argos to launch US initial public offering
07 December 2021US: Cementos Argos plans to begin trading publically in mid-late 2022 with the launch of an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company said “The listing in the US will contribute to the purpose of fully capturing the business value of the company, optimising the capital structure and obtaining the necessary resources to continue executing the growth strategy that the company plans to achieve in that country as a result of the recent approval of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for US$1tn and the positive cycle expected for the construction materials industry in the residential, commercial and civil works segments during the next 10 years.”
Argos implements simulation model for marine cement dispatches
18 November 2021Colombia: Cementos Argos says that it uses simulation software for logistics at six of its port operations. The company explained that simulation helps to avoid delays in the rotation of resources and to optimise ships’ capacity.
International commercial advisor Alfonso Andrés Ibarra said “The simulator facilitates the decision-making process when delivering our material, since it allows us to evaluate different scenarios in advance to define the best alternative for loading the shipments. This way, time and costs are reduced, and our supply chain is optimised.”
Grupo Argos named in Dow Jones Sustainability Index
15 November 2021Colombia: Dow Jones has named Grupo Argos in its Sustainability Index 2021, the company’s ninth time appearing in the ranking. It achieved its highest ratings in materiality, risk management, environmental reporting, climate change strategy, social reporting and human rights. The group said that the listing constitutes its recognition as the most sustainable cement company in the world. Its sustainable initiatives include offering collection of its used cement bags, supplying all the electricity for its Colombian operations from renewable sources and currently having three credit facilities linked to environmental, social and governance indicators.
Legal and sustainability vice-president Maria Isabel Echeverri said “At Argos, we are greatly satisfied with this result which places us as a world benchmark in sustainability and reassures our commitment to closing gaps and implementing best practices in social, environmental, financial and corporate governance matters. This drives us to continue moving forward in creating social value to build the dreams of housing and infrastructure for millions of people.”
Cementos Argos records increased sales and earnings in the first nine months of 2021
10 November 2021Colombia: Cementos Argos' nine-month consolidated sales rose by 9% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2021 to US$1.87bn from US$1.72bn in the corresponding period of 2020. The group increased its consolidated cement sales by 20% to 12.9Mt from 10.7Mt. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 31% to US$416m from US$319m.
Chief executive officer Juan Esteban Calle “In the context of cost inflation pressures, Argos holds a privileged position given its capacity to locally produce clinker and cement in each of the regions where we operate. Additionally, the strategic geographic location of our network of ports and our own fleet of vessels facilitate the integration of the Cartagena cement plant, which is one of the most efficient in the Americas, with grinding plants and ready-mix operations in the US and the Caribbean.”
Argos commits to 29% CO2 emissions reduction by 2030 and carbon neutral concrete by 2050
27 October 2021Colombia: Cementos Argos has announced its new commitment to reduce the CO2 emissionsfrom its cement operations by 29% over a period ending in 2030. The company has additionally committed to producing all of its concrete CO2-neutrally by 2050. It said that its strategy will comprise several carbon mitigation techniques, including maximised alternative fuel (AF) substitution, clinker factor reduction, energy optimisation, clean technology upgrades and a diversification of its range of its cement range to include more sustainable products.
Chief executive officer Juan Calle said "We are determined to face this important challenge and we are convinced that we can build the future we have planned and achieve a more prosperous, inclusive and low-carbon world if we work together with determination to accelerate this transition." He added "We will continue to strive to implement tangible actions, achieve measurable progress each year and deliver information about out opportunities and progress transparently."
Colombia: Cementos Argos has signed a contract with Klaveness Digital for the supply of the latter’s CargoValue cement terminal logistics platform throughout its supply chain. The move follows a successful trial project carried out by the parties during the second quarter of 2021. Cementos Argos says that it solidifies its digitisation agenda to preserve its strong market foothold in the Americas.
Trading and business intelligence senior director Gabriel Ballestas said “Our business model is focused on the customer and on creating added value for our stakeholders. CargoValue has enabled us to digitise existing processes to improve visibility and make better decisions throughout the supply chain towards that goal.” He added “This wider rollout will improve collaboration between stakeholders and allow us to identify and improve supply chain efficiencies between sites.”
Update on South America, August 2021
18 August 2021Our latest look at South America starts by posing the question: how far can the market in Brazil keep growing? As Graph 1 shows below, cement sales skyrocketed through the coronavirus pandemic, due to a general recovery locally that started in 2018 and relatively weak lockdown measures compared to other countries. Rolling annual totals on a monthly basis from the National Cement Industry Association (SNIC) suggest that this growth period tailed off from May 2021. SNIC was also keen to point out that, despite nearly hitting nearly a 20% growth rate at one point, the sector was still 11% behind where it was before the lull that lasted from 2015 to 2018. As ever the association has an eye on potential risks. At present these include legislative reforms, price inflation and carbon pricing. It noted that Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina all price carbon already but said that the country ‘has a great ally in the Brazilian cement industry’ on the issue.
Elsewhere the big story in Brazil has been the ongoing sale of Holcim’s local assets. The latest news at the start of August 2021 was that the bidders included CSN Cimentos, Cimentos Mizu, Cimento Apodi, InterCement and Votorantim. The first three companies were reportedly working in a consortium in an attempt to buy 10 production plants while InterCement and Votorantim were focusing on smaller bids to avoid the ire of the competition regulators. Aside from this, CSN Cimentos agreed to buy Cimento Elizabeth for US$220m in July 2021 and Companhia Nacional de Cimento (CNC), part of Italy-based Buzzi Unicem’s 50% subsidiary BCPAR, acquired CRH Brasil following approval by the regulators. Of note on the production side, Votorantim Cimentos started operation of a new production line at its Pecém grinding plant in Ceará in July 2021.
Graph 1: Cement sales in selected South American countries in first half of year, 2019 – 2021. Source: Local cement associations and national statistics offices.
Over in Peru the now familiar gap-tooth pattern of stunted growth in 2020 can be seen in the sector’s cement sales, but sales rebounded far stronger than comparable sized markets in Argentina and Colombia. Sales nearly doubled to 6.42Mt in the first half of 2021 from 3.33Mt in the same period in 2020 and were significantly higher than the 4.94Mt recorded in the first half of 2020. Imports are also worth watching. Combined cement and clinker importers nearly doubled from 0.76Mt in the first half of 2019 to 1.4Mt in the first half of 2021. Clinker imports made up about two thirds of this figure and the Association of Cement Producers (ASOCEM) noted in June 2021 that 88% of the imported cement came from Vietnam while about two thirds of the clinker came from Japan and Indonesia.
Away from the market data, both Cementos Pacasmayo’s and Unión Andina de Cementos’ (UNACEM) financial results bounced back in the first half of 2021. Cementos Pacasmayo attributed the rebound to sales of bagged cement to the self-construction sector and public sector reconstruction demand. UNACEM also noted the effect of the self-construction sector and said it expected its ‘solid’ cement despatches to continue for the rest of the year despite the risk of a third wave of coronavirus in the country and the messy presidential elections. Other stories of note so far in 2021 include new developments in Cementos Interoceanicos long-held plans to build a 1.0Mt/yr cement plant in Puno and a major upgrade planned to Yura’s integrated plant in Arequipa.
In Colombia local cement despatches grew by 34% year-on-year to 6.20Mt in the first half of 2021 from 4.61Mt in the same period in 2020. Cementos Argos reported major improvements in sales, sales volumes of cement and earnings due to the lockdown in 2020. However, a national wave of protests calling for social reform that started in the spring of 2012 forced the company to shut down its integrated Yumbo plant for over a month. This represented 18% of its national sales. The output of other plants in the country was also negatively affected by roadblocks created by the unrest. Cemex reported the same problems in the country.
Finally, Argentina’s cement despatches rose by 44% to 5.52Mt in the first half of 2021 from 3.83Mt in the same period in 2020. Loma Negra reported that its sales, sales volumes and earnings were all up by a similar rate. The subsidiary of Brazil-based InterCement started up the kiln on its new 2.7Mt/yr production line at the L’Amalí cement plant in Olavarría in June 2021 and commissioning of the new mill and despatch centre on the line were reportedly coming soon in early August 2021. Earlier in the year, in May 2021, Holcim Argentina inaugurated a new 0.5Mt/yr clinker production line at its Malagueño cement plant in Cordoba. These expansion projects were ordered long before coronavirus appeared so it will take a while to see their effects upon the local market. However, the government intervened in June 2021 when it persuaded some building materials producers to agree to reference prices in a bid to curb mounting inflation.
This is what recovery looks like so far in 2021 in the larger cement producing countries in South America. The Brazilian market’s growth phase may be waning after a furious period that even coronavirus wasn’t allowed to slow. Peru’s potential seems set to take off, Colombia’s rebound should have been greater (but it was dented by social unrest) and Argentina seems to be resetting to its usual level. Whatever else happens in the coming months the story to watch going forward will be which company picks up Holcim’s assets in Brazil.
Colombia: London Stock Exchange Group subsidiary FTSE Russell has listed Grupo Argos subsidiary Cementos Argos among the top companies on its FTSE4Good environmental, social and governance sustainability index. The index evaluates company performance across 150 indicators including water efficiency, health and safety, labour standards, human rights, fiscal transparency and anti-corruption.
Legal and Sustainability Vice President María Isabel Echeverri said, “We are very excited about being included in the FTSE4Good because it recognises the importance of sustainability management and value creation for us, as well as the efforts we have been making to communicate our goals in a transparent and timely manner in environmental, social commitments and government aspects.”
Colombia: Grupo Argos subsidiary Cementos Argos recorded consolidated sales of US$1.30bn in the first half of 2021, up by 11% year-on-year from US$1.17bn in the first half of 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 30% to US$267m from US$205m. Cement shipments were 8.60Mt, also up by 30%, from 6.62Mt. The company said its performance was ‘solid’ in every region in which it operates. The sharpest sales increase was in Colombia, where sales rose by 38% to US$314m from US$228m and cement shipments rose by 40%. It continued to execute its BEST efficiency programme and RESET plan for a sustainable restart post-Covid-19 pandemic. Additional challenges included 40 days of roadblocks in Colombia and political and a period of social instability in Haiti.
Cementos Argos’ CEO Juan Esteban Calle said “We are very satisfied with the figures achieved during the first half of the year in our three regions, and we are optimistic about the future for our customers, the progress of their housing and infrastructure projects, which are contributing significantly to employment recovery, as well as the levels of economic activity and the creation of social value in all the countries and markets where we are present, and with the noteworthy recovery of the company's financial flexibility in recent months, which is thanks to the commitment, creativity, passion and innovation of all our employees and to the success in the deployment of the BEST and RESET programmes.”
He added “Our strategy of creating social value is at the centre of the corporate strategy and in our higher purpose, and today, we are reassuring our commitment to contribute to the reactivation of the economy and to closing equality gaps. During the first half of 2021, we continued investing in the expansion of Cartagena Port, which generates additional employment and brings great social investment to the area. Additionally, we are making progress in initiatives such as Casa para Mi and Hogares Saludables that will allow us to contribute to the dreams of having decent housing for thousands of people in the country.”
US: Colombia-based Cementos Argos subsidiary Argos USA’s Newberry, Florida cement plant produced 140,000t of cement in June 2021. The plant shipped 129,000t of cement. The company says that the production figure beats its previous production record of 128,000t in June 2019 by 9%. The figure for shipments beats the previous shipment record, also from June 2019, of 121,000t by 7%.
Plant production manager Daniel Ball said, “Everyone at the Newberry Plant is excited and proud to see these records being set. With the current sales climate, we are able to show the untapped potential Newberry has. This sustained sales commitment would not be possible if it wasn’t for all the hard work and dedication of everyone at the plant as well as from Argos plant support staff and Argos Corporate. But with the new record set, we strive to set new records going forward.”