14 November 2022
JK Cement increases income as profit drops during first half of 2023 financial year 14 November 2022
India: JK Cement recorded US$536m in standalone income during the first half of its 2023 financial year, up by 26% year-on-year from US$427m. Throughout the period, the producer's profit after tax declined by 19%, to US$37.7m from US$46.4m. Also on a standalone basis, the company reported total expenses of US$482m, up by 31% year-on-year from US$368m. JK Cement's consolidated income rose by 23% to US$558m, while the group's expenses rose by 30% to US$509m, resulting in a 20% consolidated net profit drop to US$33.5m.
Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement's consolidated sales rose by 34% year-on-year to US$82.8m during the first half of its 2023 financial year. Its cost of sales rose by less than 1% to US$50.8m. As such, the company recorded a profit for the period of US$10.1m, up by more than a factor of eight from first-half 2022 financial year levels.
Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement was among successful bidders in Saudi Arabia's largest carbon credit auction to date earlier in November 2022. The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s Voluntary Carbon Market Initiative Auction sold 1.4Mt-worth of carbon credits to 15 different entities, of which Yanbu Cement was the only cement sector representative. The PIF said that the sale will support the country's Saudi Vision 2030 development goal, while also advancing its progress towards net zero CO2 emissions by 2060.
Gansu Shangfeng Cement to establish building materials digital intelligence research company 14 November 2022
China: Gansu Shangfeng Cement has announced plans for the establishment of a new building materials digital intelligence research company. Local press has reported that the company will function as a joint venture of a Gansu Shangfeng Cement subsidiary and another company. Gansu Shangfeng Cement says that the new venture will have registered capital of US$70.3m.
Bangladesh: Crown Cement has estimated the total cost of cement capacity currently unused in Bangladesh at US$1.46bn. The figure is even higher when maintenance costs are included, according to Crown Cement's chief advisor Masud Khan. Over the past 15 years, national cement capacity has nearly quadrupled to 83.3Mt/yr from 22.4Mt/yr, while demand has merely doubled to 46.7Mt/yr from 22.8Mt/yr. Khan estimated the cost per 1Mt/yr of new Bangladeshi cement capacity over the period at US$40m.
Khan said that producers continue to anticipate an acceleration in local cement consumption growth in the medium-term future. Reflecting on the situation up to the end of 2022, he said "They thought if they were not prepared for the growing demand, they would lose their market share. That was why they continued expansion, bearing the burden of excess capacity." Khan forecast a further decline in the industry's capacity utilisation if gross domestic product undergoes a forecast drop during the 2023 financial year, impacting on producers' results for the year.
Cemex USA Knoxville cement plant worker dies in coal pile collapse 14 November 2022
US: A coal pile collapse at Cemex USA's Knoxville, Tennessee, cement plant killed one worker at the plant earlier in November 2022. Local press has reported that Thomas Mitchell, aged 21, died at the scene.
Cemex says that it is cooperating with an on-going investigation into the disaster.