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Cemex Colombia‘s long road to Maceo
Written by David Perilli, Global Cement
17 April 2019
Good news for Cemex Colombia this week with an agreement reached to open its Maceo cement plant in Antioquia. Local media was reporting that the cement producer has struck a government-brokered deal with CI Calizas y Minerales to lease the land it built its plant on. Finally, the new(ish) US$350m integrated plant can start operation.
For those unfamiliar with the debacle, Cemex has been fighting the fallout publicly since 2016, following a dodgy land deal at the site. The 1Mt/yr integrated Maceo plant was originally announced in 2014 with full operation scheduled for late 2016. Then, in October 2016 Cemex fired several senior staff members in relation to the project and its subsidiary’s chief executive resigned. This followed an internal audit and investigation into payments worth around US$20m made to a non-government third party in connection with the acquisition of the land, mining rights and benefits of the tax free zone for the project. Other irregularities are also alleged to be linked to the project. As well as the Colombian authorities being involved, the US Department of Justice is also running its own investigation into the affair with wider implications for Cemex’s operations in other Latin American countries. Some of the sacked staff members and others have since been investigated on corruption charges.
Graph 1: Cement production in Colombia, 2010 – 2018. Source: DANE.
Looking at the wider Colombian market though, it does make one wonder whether the long-delayed plant is really necessary. As Graph 1 shows, cement production rose steadily year-on-year to 2015 before it hit a downturn. It reached a high of 13Mt in 2015 before declining. Production in 2018 grew slightly compared to 2017 but not at the same rate seen previously. In Antioquia specifically despatches increased by 1.3% in 2018, above the national average of 0.2%. Despatches now appear to have continued into January and February 2019.
Cemex Colombia started to benefit from an improved fourth quarter in 2018 as the general economy picked up. Despite this its overall net sales and operating earnings fell in 2018. However, it did flag its earnings margin as a concern with higher freight and energy costs in the fourth quarter of 2018, although it partially offset this with higher prices. Cementos Argos, the other big producer in Colombia, reported a similar picture to Cemex, although in a better position. Its cement volumes fell slightly for the year in 2018 but picked up fast in the fourth quarter. Annual revenue was down slightly, as were adjusted earnings. In its opinion the construction industry improved in the second half of 2018 due to an improved housing market and infrastructure projects.
Given the downturn in production since 2015 the thought does occur whether the opening of the Maceo plant being delayed accidentally helped Cemex or not. It has probably been losing money by not running the plant but if, for example, the company had some sort of insurance to protect it against unexpected delays it might still benefit. However, if evidence of serious wider misconduct in both Colombia and other Latin American countries are found by the US authorities, then things could get expensive. This would be unfortunate, particularly in Colombia, given that the market looks set to recover.
Saud Suliman Al Juhani appointed as chairman of Tabuk Cement
Written by Global Cement staff
17 April 2019
Saudi Arabia: Tabuk Cement has appointed Saud Suliman Al Juhani as its new chairman. It follows the resignation of Saeed Obaid, who has left the position due to other business commitments but will retain a seat on the board. Tareq Khalid Al Angari has also been appointed as the Vice Chairman. Both positions will last until 25 January 2020.
US Concrete appoints Ronnie Pruitt as president and chief operating officer
Written by Global Cement staff
17 April 2019
US: US Concrete has appointed Ronnie Pruitt as its president and chief operating officer. Pruitt will continue to report to chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) William J Sandbrook and, in this expanded role, will take over many corporate functions that support the company's operational business units.
Pruitt, aged 48 years, has been with US Concrete since 2015 and has over 25 years of industry experience. Prior to joining US Concrete, he served as Vice President of Martin Marietta Materials and as Vice President of Cement Production and Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Texas Industries (TXI).
Michael Lambert appointed to the management board of Vecoplan
Written by Global Cement staff
17 April 2019
Germany: Michael Lambert has been appointed to the management board of Vecoplan. He has been responsible for the company’s commercial operations since 2014 and is the manager of its European subsidiaries. In this capacity he supports Werner Berens, who has been chief executive officer (CEO) of Vecoplan since 2012 and is in charge of Vecoplan’s divisions and supply chain activities.
Lambert, aged 40 years, has a degree in business administration and has held a number of management positions. In 2008 he assumed the post of commercial director in the Saar-Gummi Group and he became manager of the group’s non-automotive business in 2011. In January 2014 Lambert went to Vecoplan, where he was appointed chief financial officer (CFO).
True North buys majority stake in Shree Digvijay 17 April 2019
India: Private equity company True North has purchased a 54% stake in Shree Digvijay for a reported US$17m from Brazil’s Votorantim Cementos. Other companies bought the rest of Votorantim’s 75% share in the business, according to Bloomberg. True North signed a deal to buy the cement producer in late 2018. Shree Digvijay operates an integrated cement plant at Jamnagr in Gujarat.