10 February 2022

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement recorded sales of US$1.19bn in the first nine months of the 2022 financial year, down by 22% year-on-year. The company’s net profit was US$71.7m. For its full-year 2022 financial year, the group forecast sales of US$1.61bn, down by 22% from full-year 2021 financial year levels. It expects full-year net profit to drop by 32% to US$69.2m.

Italy: Buzzi Unicem’s full-year consolidated sales rose by 8.9% in 2021 to Euro3.45bn. The group also increased its cement sales, by 6.7% to 31.2Mt.

Buzzi Unicem’s net financial position for the year was Euro231m, compared to a loss of Euro242m in 2020.

Spain: The Catalonia government has received a court order to close down LafargeHolcim España’s Montcada i Reixac cement plant in Barcelona. The Spanish Collection newspaper has reported that the plant failed to conform to new environmental regulations. LafargeHolcim España has appealed the decision.

The Montcada i Reixac plant currently employs 300 people. A union involved in the issue said that the alleged breach is formal rather than substantive and that an administrative error by the regional government caused the plant to breach the regulations.

Pakistan: Cement producers have reported a rise in operating costs. The News International newspaper has reported that costs have risen due to a hike in the price of imported Afghan coal. The price of the coal rose by 13% to US$170/t from US$150/t in the week leading up to 10 February. The rise brings it to just 23% below the price of imported coal from South Africa, which is currently US$236/t.

The Pakistani cement industry depends on imports of coal, of which 30 – 40% came from Afghanistan in Northern Pakistani cement production in 2021.

Pakistan: Power Cement has received the International Standards Organisation (ISO)’s ISO 50001:2018 certification for the energy performance of its management systems.

The producer said “We are on a never-ending quest to improve the environment for future generations by promoting the usage of sustainable energy.”