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Titan Cement’s first-half 2022 sales rise 28 July 2022
Greece: Titan Cement’s consolidated sales rose by 26% year-on-year to Euro1.04bn in the first half of 2022 from Euro821m in the first half of 2021. The group’s US sales rose by 23% to Euro595m from Euro482m. Its Southeastern Europe sales grew by 28% to Euro169m, while its Greece and Western Europe sales grew by 21% to Euro158m and its Eastern Mediterranean sales grew by 49% to Euro113m. The producer also holds a stake in Brazil-based Cimento Apodi, which recorded sales growth of 38% to Euro50.5m. Titan Cement’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to Euro139m, down by 2.5% from Euro143m. The producer expects cost pressures to persist throughout 2022. It says that its focus is on safeguarding its production, protecting its margins, improving its efficiencies and continuing with its carbon mitigation strategies.
Titan Cement’s CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious product fell by 5.6% year-on-year, driven by a reduction in the clinker factor.
Italy: Cementir Holding’s sales rose by 22% year-on-year to Euro811m in the first half of 2022 from Euro665m in the first half of 2021. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 7.7% to Euro144m from Euro134m. Its net profit grew by 39% to Euro66.6m from Euro47.9m. During the half year the group sold 5.41Mt of cement and clinker, down by 0.8% from 5.46Mt. The group attributed this to local sales declines in China, Denmark and Turkey.
Chair and chief executive officer Francesco Caltagirone said, “The first-half 2022 results are aligned with our forecasts. Despite the severe geopolitical tensions and the significant increase in raw materials, energy and logistic costs, the group is showing great resilience thanks to an increased geographical and product diversification and a focused cost management.”
India: Shree Cement recorded consolidated sales of US$527m in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year, up by 22% year-on-year from US$432m in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year. The company’s profit for the quarter was US$39.6m, down by 52% year-on-year from US$83m.
New clinker production lines in the US
Written by David Perilli, Global Cement
27 July 2022
Congratulations are due to the National Cement Company of Alabama and Vicat for the inauguration of the new production line at the Ragland cement plant in Alabama. The event took place on 21 July 2022.
The US$300m project was originally announced in late 2019. It then took two years to build with construction starting in January 2020. Key features include a raw vertical grinding mill, a new roller mill, a five stage preheater tower, an automatic clay storage system, a 78m tall homogenisation silo, an alternative fuels storage area for tyre-derived fuel, sawdust and wood chips, a laboratory and a new control room. The new kiln was previously reported to have a clinker production capacity of 5000t/day and it will add up to 2Mt/yr of cement production capacity to the plant. ThyssenKrupp signed up as the principal equipment supplier in 2019 and H&M was the main contractor. The production line is expected to reduce energy consumption by one third. Further change is scheduled with a switch to production of Portland limestone cement (PLC) from Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) by the start of 2023.
Vicat has repeatedly noted its affection for the plant as it was the first cement plant the group purchased outside of France, back in 1974. Indeed, Vicat’s group chair and chief executive officer Guy Sidos personally managed the Ragland plant in 2001. However, rather more prosaic reasons may also have been behind the decision to expand Ragland. According to United States Geological Survey (USGS) data, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee’s cement shipments grew by nearly 5% year-on-year to 7.1Mt in 2019 from 6.8Mt in 2018. Shipments are up by 3% year-on-year to 2.5Mt in the first four months of 2022 and the three states were the fifth largest region in the US for cement shipments in April 2022. A shortage of cement was also reported in Alabama in April 2022.
The other big US-based cement plant expansion is Lehigh Hanson’s US$600m upgrade to its Mitchell plant in Indiana. It also celebrated a milestone this week with a ‘topping out’ ceremony to mark the placement of the final section of steel for the stack. Another recent achievement here was the completion of a 169,000t storage dome supplied by Dome Technologies. The supplier says that the 67m diameter and 48m tall dome is the second largest clinker storage facility in Europe and North America, after one it previous built in Romania in 2008.
The Mitchell K4 project was announced in mid-2018 and then ground breaking began in late 2019. However, the start of the coronavirus pandemic delayed construction in early 2020 before it restarted in September 2020. The revised commissioning date was then moved back about half a year to early 2023. The key part of this project is that it will replace the plant’s three current kilns with just one. The new production line will increase the site’s production capacity, reduce energy usage and decrease CO2 emissions per tonne of cement. It was reported by local press back in 2018 that the project would increase the plant’s cement production capacity to 2.8Mt/yr. The project has been linked to supplier KHD with CCC Group as the contractor.
It’s fascinating to see two major new upgrades to cement plants emerging in a mature market like the US and during an unprecedented event like the emergence of coronavirus. No doubt compelling tales will emerge of how both teams coped with managing nine-figure capital expansion projects as a global public health emergency unfolded. The US market has been on a roll in recent years, despite all the uncertainty in the world, and so far it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. With luck both of the projects feature above have timed their opening right.
Ishtiaq Ahmed appointed as head of Dewan Cement
Written by Global Cement staff
27 July 2022
Pakistan: Dewan Cement has appointed Ishtiaq Ahmed as its chief executive officer (CEO). He succeeds Malik Bilal Omar in the position. Ishtiaq Ahmed was previously appointed as the company’s chair in 2018. Waseem-ul-Haque Ansari has also been appointed as a director in place of the departing CEO.