10 November 2021

Colombia: 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.”

US: Summit Materials' nine-month consolidated sales were US$1.68bn in the first nine months of 2021, up by 7.7% year-on-year from US$1.56bn in the corresponding period of 2020. The group's net income rose by 4.8% to US$110m from US$105m. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 31% to US$416m from US$319m.

The company's consolidated cement sales for the period were US$208m, up by 10% from US$189m. Its sales volumes rose by 6.5% to 1.8Mt from 1.69Mt.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has expressed its support of the House of Representatives' new Infrastructure and Jobs Act, consisting of a US$1.2Tn infrastructure spending plan. The plan includes US$550bn in new federal investments before 2027. US$16bn is set aside for 'major projects' requiring special funding arrangements. The legislative body voted in favour of the bill on 7 November 2021. The act awaits the signature of US President Joe Biden. Biden previously unveiled a proposed US$2.25Tn infrastructure package in March 2021.

PCA president and chief executive officer Michael Ireland said "The PCA applauds the US House of Representatives for finally passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This bipartisan infrastructure bill not only addresses years of underinvestment in the nation’s infrastructure but will spur economic growth and job creation in communities across the country, improving the quality of life and our nation’s global competitiveness. As many are still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, this legislation will further our nation’s recovery, creating thousands of well-paying jobs."

He continued "PCA members across the country appreciate the legislation passing a long-term reauthorisation of the surface transportation programme, including significant investments in our water infrastructure, providing funding for the department of energy to focus on the research, developmentand deployment of technologies for manufacturers to capture carbon emissions, and the exemption of cement from Buy America requirements. We are eager for President Biden to sign this legislation into law and start building a better future for America.”

Spain: Votorantim Cimentos has started a Euro2m project to install a new clinker cooler at its Toral de los Vados plant. The work is expected to last until early December 2021 at the subsidiary run by Cementos Cosmos. The project will improve the energy efficiency of the plant. In August 2021 construction started on a 6.2MW solar plant to supply electricity to the site.

Algeria: Lafarge Algeria announced that it had exported a total of 2Mt of cement on 9 October 2021 from the start of its operations in 2016. Horizons News has reported that the company exported 0.8Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2021, more than double that in the corresponding period of 2020. It aims to exceed 2.5Mt of cement exports by the start of 2022. Its target for 2022 is full-year cement exports of 2.6Mt, double its 2021 target of 1.3Mt.

Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d'Algérie (GICA) expects that its cement exports should reach 2Mt by the end of 2021. The cement producer started exporting in 2018 with a total of 0.27Mt and has increased this since then. It renewed its desire for a new port to support its Chlef plant in the west of the country to further boost exports.

Vietnam: Cement producers have raised their prices due to mounting coal costs. In October 2021 Bim Son Cement increased the cost of its products by 6%, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Other manufacturers have done likewise. Data from the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors shows that local coal prices have grown by 7 – 10% recently. Coal represents around 40 – 45% of the production cost of cement. Prices of diesel and additives have also risen.

Iceland: Sementsverksmidjan has decided to sell cement from competitor Aalborg Portland Islandi due to a cement shortage in the country. It said it wants to help the local supply situation after seeking guidance from the local competition authority. Rival company Steinsteypan has made a formal complaint to the regulator. Sementsverksmidjan, a cement importing subsidiary of HeildebergCement, says that it also sold cement supplied by competitors earlier in the year.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement has revealed that a weakness in an evaporator tube in a fluidised bed heat exchanger in a captive power plant was the cause of an explosion that took place at its Hidaka cement plant in April 2021. It said that inspections had been carried out annually but that it was difficult to detect defects visually. The company has apologised for the incident. It says it will make changes including a review of inspection standards, including more personnel in the process, improved information sharing and starting regular training on the issue. These changes will be implemented across all of the company’s plants.

The 50,000kW circulating fluidised bed (CFB) boiler was supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and commissioned in 1996. It ran on coal, wood chips and refuse-derived fuel. No blame for the explosion has been attributed to the manufacturer.

The explosion took place in the evening of 27 April 2021. No major injuries were sustained. However, 40 vehicles parked outside a Pachinko gambling parlour near the plant were damaged. Scattered debris was noted nearby and ash was reported up to 5km from the cement plant.

Switzerland: Holcim says it wants to reach at least 40% of sustainable financing by 2024. It intends to put climate action, water preservation and safety at the heart of its strategy to do this. The company has linked this commitment with the completion of two new sustainability-linked financing transactions worth above Euro2.8bn. It has also joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Taskforce alongside 60 companies representing a combined US$1.7Tn in market capitalisation. The UNGC CFO Taskforce aligns members’ finance strategies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Holcim’s CFO Géraldine Picaud said, “Sustainability is at the core of what we do. That's why we set ourselves some of the most ambitious goals in our industry. Walking the talk, we are putting climate, water and safety at the heart of our financing strategy. To make a bigger impact, I am delighted to be a member of the UNGC CFO Taskforce to move this agenda forward with my peers.”

In August 2021, Holcim refinanced a Euro3bn syndicated credit line linking it to climate and safety in line with the UN SDGs. The cost of the credit facility will depend on the company’s achievement of its annual targets in these areas. In September 2021, Holcim placed a new 10-year US$100m sustainability-linked bond, based on its 2030 CO₂ reduction target. This issue represents its first private placement of a US Dollar medium-term note linked to climate action. The investor will be entitled to a higher coupon should the company not meet its climate objective. These actions follow the company’s Euro850m sustainability-linked bond issued in November 2020.