28 July 2020

Mexico: Cemex recorded a net income of US$5.61m in the first half of 2020, down by 97% year-on-year from US$218m in the first half of 2019. Net sales fell by 8% to US$6.00bn from US$6.49bn and consolidated cement volumes fell by 5% to 29.2Mt from 30.7Mt. The company increased its US sales by 7% to 1.97Mt from 1.85Mt and cement volumes by 6%, while prices increased by 1%.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Fernando González said, “Despite the unprecedented conditions in which we are operating due to the pandemic, I am pleased with our second quarter performance and our quick reaction to implement cost containment measures across all geographies. In the second quarter of 2020 we saw a rapid V-shaped volume recovery in our core products from trough levels in April, reaching slightly below pre-Covid-19 outbreak volumes in June. Importantly, our health initiatives have helped protect our employees, customers, suppliers and communities, and allowed us and our customers to continue operating in most markets.

India: The India Cements recorded a profit of US$2.27m in the three months to 30 June 2020, down by 77% year-on-year from US$9.66m in the corresponding quarter of 2019. Its sales fell by 48% to US$102m from US$197m, due to the effects of the coronavirus lockdown during the quarter. It noted that direct cement sales to consumers (non-trade sales) rose to 67% from 52%, and said that it would extend its successful “cash and carry” business model developed for non-trade sales during the partial coronavirus lockdown to all cement sales. The India Cements predicts a rise in cement demand in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana of 75% to 3.5Mt in the second half of 2020 from 2.0Mt in the first half.

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo recorded a loss of US$13.0m in the six months to the 30 June 2020, compared to a US$9.16m profit in the first half of 2019. The company experienced a 64% drop in sales to US$32.5m from US$91.6m. It said the decline resulted from decreased demand due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Myanmar: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim says it is liquidating its subsidiary in Myanmar. The group says it decided in 2017 to exit its operations in Myanmar. Subsequently, it wound the company down in 2018, with no local employees and no product sales. Its cement repacking plant in Thilawa special economic zone (SEZ) originally opened in 2014.

The announcement follows the discovery by the Sonntags Zeitung newspaper of military links (Tatmadaw) with two companies allegedly linked to a sale of the assets. In mid-2019 the United Nations (UN) recommended that multinational companies operating in the country, “should conduct heightened due diligence to ensure they are not benefiting the Tatmadaw,” following the persecution of the mainly-Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine state from mid-2017.

Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement has supported its partner the Sri Lanka Navy in completing an underwater statue park. The Sunday Observer newspaper has reported that the 1200m² park in Trincomalee Bay, Eastern Province, lies at a depth of 18m and unfolds a historical storyline. Tokyo Cement supplied its Tokyo Super blended hydraulic fly ash cement to the project.

Project leader Piyal De Silva said, “Our Coral Conservation Programme (CCP) partner Tokyo Cement will carry out monitoring and maintenance activities and will provide material and technical support to set up a coral nursery for replanting corals within the Underwater Marine Sanctuary (UMS). The marine park will gradually become the home to coral colonies native to the Trincomalee Bay area. With the corals, it will attract young fish, which will ultimately lead to the formation of fish communities.” Tokyo Cement has been involved in coral reef restoration around Sri Lanka since 2010.