Displaying items by tag: 2016

Pakistan: Total cement despatches in Pakistand during the first two months of the current fiscal year clocked up at 4.9Mt, a 14% increase from 4.3Mt recorded in same period of 2015-16. However, according to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), overall export despatches have decreased: Exports in July-August were down almost 1% on a year-on-year basis to 1.022Mt. Overall domestic sales in August rose 21% to 3.02Mt from 2.5Mt in August 2015. Cement sales in the north zone were 2.495Mt in August, up 22.6% from a year ago. In the south zone sales recorded an increase of 13.2% at 0.532Mt from the same month of 2015.

Exports to Afghanistan dropped 12% to 346,928t in July-August on an annual basis, APCMA data shows. Exports by sea suffered even more. As opposed to 537,120t exported during the first two months of the preceding fiscal year, exports by sea in July-August 2016 were 407,120t, showing 24% decline on an annual basis.

However, increased exports to India made up for these shortfalls to some extent. Exports to India during the first two months of the current fiscal year grew 167% year on year to 268,230t.

A spokesman for the APCMA said the industry has been doubling its production capacity every seven to eight years. The buoyancy in the sector on the back of healthy domestic consumption during the last 20 months has encouraged the industry players to go for further capacity expansion. He said growth in the sector during the first two months of the fiscal year was in spite of Eid holidays. Growth of domestic consumption in August was also 'impressive,' as consistent rains failed to hurt construction activities, he added. He said upcoming projects along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will further boost cement consumption.

The industry has yet to realise its export potential due to the lack of support from the government. The loss of the Afghanistan market is a matter of concern for the industry, which has been marginalised there because of subsidised Iranian exports.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement Limited has received the 13th Annual Environment Excellence Award 2016. The awards ceremony took place on the occasion of a conference titled 'Making our cities sustainable' organised by The National Forum for Environment and Health. Provincial ministers, the Secretary of the Environment, representative of United Nations and other notables were also present on the occasion.

Africa/South Africa: Despite a decline in the construction sector, cement giant Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) continues to defy the odds as it posted a 9% uptick in quarterly sales revenue. The cement producer said sales revenue in South Africa has seen an upswing of 2% with volumes increasing by at least 9%, although earnings per share disappointed as it fell by 55% for the period. However, revenue from outside of South Africa rose by 19% on the back of significant volume growth and newly commissioned plants in Rwanda as well as gains from the currency translations in Zimbabwe and Botswana. "The group's revenue has improved by 6% supported by strong cement sales volume growth in South Africa and Rwanda. Cement sales volumes grew in excess of 30% in the Coastal regions in South Africa," CEO Daryll Castle said.

"However, good cost control has led to further impressive declines in group overheads while variable delivered cost of sales per tonne in the South African cement business were well below inflation," Castle said. In addition, the cement maker said its cost of sales was also on the rise, increasing by 14% to R1.8bn (US$99m), largely on the back of higher volumes in the South African cement industry as well as more expensive logistics which rose by 3% during the period. "On consolidation of foreign currency denominated subsidiaries, the weakness of the rand contributed to rising cost of sales. Gross profit decreased by 11%, from R709m (US$50m) for the quarter ended June 2015 to R630m (US$44.4m) for the current quarter. "This decrease was mainly ascribed to the impact of selling prices pressures felt in our key cement operating markets together with the lower sales volumes in Zimbabwe and Botswana," the company said. But, the company said the R135m (US$9.5m)acquisition of 3Q Mahuma Concrete, one of the largest independently owned ready-mix concrete supplier in South Africa, will improve PPC's ready-mix footprint.