Displaying items by tag: Australia

Switzerland: Holcim recorded sales of US$31.2bn during 2022, up by 8.8% year-on-year from US$28.7bn in 2021. Its recurring earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) were US$5.08bn, up by 3% from US$4.93bn. The group's cement business recorded sales of US$17.5bn, up by 14% on a like-for-like basis. Its EBIT grew to US$3.53bn, up by 1% on a like-for-like basis.

In its Asia Pacific region, Holcim faced high cost inflation in India and reduced demand in China, but reported 'good performance' in Australia. In Europe, the group's cement volumes were ‘softer’ but 'strong pricing' offset cost inflation. It recorded 'strong profitable growth' in Latin America and 'over-proportional recurring EBIT growth' in Middle East - Africa and North America.

Chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “As we enter 2023, we are continuing our fast pace. We’ve already made seven acquisitions in the first two months of the year, including Duro-Last, a roofing systems leader in the most attractive North American market. We also acquired German roofing leader FDT to expand our commercial roofing presence in Europe, as well as a range of bolt-ons across Europe and the US. I look forward to another year of continued profitable growth and fast-paced transformation, to become the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions.”

Australia: Italy-based Bedeschi has started a new subsidiary in Australia. Bedeschi Australia’s head office is based in Perth with satellite offices in Port Hedland and Brisbane. The company is intended to target the mining, port and agricultural sectors. Uwe Zulehner has been appointed as the chief executive officer of Bedeschi Australia.

Australia: Rampant inflation, restructuring costs and a softening US housing market have been blamed for a third earnings downgrade at building materials group James Hardie. The company’s new chief executive officer Aaron Erter has also warned of ongoing challenges for the business in Australia, where the housing boom is grinding to a halt in the face of surging interest rates and the end of the federal government’s HomeBuilder stimulus.

James Hardie reported an adjusted net income of US$129.2m in the three months to December 2022, down by 16% year-on-year from the same quarter of 2021. Global net sales of its fibre cement and cladding products were down 4% during the quarter, at US$860.8m, driven down by falling sales volumes in its largest market in the US, as well as in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

More widely, price increases partially offset an 11% decline in global sales volumes across James Hardie’s entire range of business lines. The challenging conditions led to full-year earnings guidance for the 12 months to 31 March 2023 being cut for a third time, to US$600 - 620m, in line with the prior fiscal year.

Austria: RHI Magnesita has invested in Australia-based MCi Carbon as part of a long-term strategic cooperation agreement to research and develop technologies to decarbonise the production of refractories. MCi Carbon sells a mineral carbonation process that creates a range of low-carbon embodied materials, including calcium and magnesium carbonate by carbonating minerals in by-products of industrial processes. RHI Magnesita intends to use this process to reduce its Scope 1 emissions from mineral processing during its refractory production process.

Stefan Borgas, the chief executive officer of RHI Magnesita, said "This partnership could become a breakthrough towards decarbonising the industry. It fits seamlessly with RHI Magnesita's ambitious sustainability strategy." He added "We still have a long way to go but our early-stage investment and the clear intention of a long-term collaboration make this day so memorable. Together with the like-minded team from MCi we will pave the way for a greener industry."

So far, both companies have worked together on CO₂ mitigation studies, mineral carbonisation feedstock assessments and techno-economic analyses at RHI Magnesita's sites around the world. In a next step, the companies' joint efforts will focus on industrial scale-up, expected to start in 2024 with the set-up of a demonstration plant by MCi at Newcastle in Australia, supported by the Australian government.

Australia: Boral recorded sales of US$1.17bn during the first half of its 2023 financial year, up by 12% year-on-year from US$1.05bn during the first half of its 2022 financial year. Cement sales were US$128m, 11% of group sales. The producer’s net profit fell by 91% year-on-year to US$62.5m from US$715m.

During the half, Boral’s subsidiary Geelong Cement commissioned a new 0.8Mt/yr grinding unit at its 0.6Mt/yr Waurn Ponds grinding plant in Victoria. The group also upgraded the chlorine bypass system at its Berrima cement plant in New South Wales to support increased alternative fuel (AF) co-processing. Throughout 2022, Boral substituted 15% AF into its fuel mix.

Australia: Germany-based Christian Pfeiffer has received an order for a grinding circuit comprising a 16.3m-long ball mill and a QDK T 250-Z type separator from Hallett Construction Materials. The circuit will have a capacity of 84t/hr, according to the supplier. Hallett Construction Materials plans to use the equipment at its upcoming Port Augusta slag cement grinding plant. The plant is scheduled for commissioning in January 2024.

Hallett Construction Materials chief executive officer Kane Salisbury said, “For us, the sustainability of the plant is the highest priority. That’s why we manufacture cement containing 100% slag.” Salisbury added “The Christian Pfeiffer process experts convinced us that the ball mill, in combination with a high efficiency separator, is the best system to serve our requirements.”

Australia: Hallett Group said that a 42m-high storage dome at its upcoming Port Adelaide cement terminal deflated amid on-going construction work at the site on 2 February 2023. ABC News has reported that Hallett Group plans to rebuild the structure at the facility in South Australia. It said that the supplier of the dome's outer skin has sent representatives from Canada to supervise in the reconstruction.

When commissioned, the Port Adelaide cement terminal will distribute cement from Hallett Group's Port Augusta slag cement grinding plant in the north of the state.

Australia: Adbri has appointed Samantha Hogg as its deputy chair and Lead Independent Director. She will take up her new post following the resignation of Vanessa Guthrie at the end of February 2023.

Hogg holds over 25 years’ experience across the transport, infrastructure, energy and resources sectors. She was previously the chief financial officer at Transurban Group. She has also served as chair or committee chair in both the public and private sectors, with a focus on the infrastructure and renewable energy sectors. More recently, she was a member of the Australian National Covid-19 Commission Advisory Panel and the Tasmanian equivalent, focusing on the social and economic recovery from the pandemic. Hogg joined the board of Adbri in early 2022.

Australia: The government plans to reform its CO₂ emissions Safeguard Mechanism in line with its stated goal of net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. Under the latest proposals, 215 industrial plants, including Australia's cement plants, will have to reduce their CO₂ emissions by 4.9% year-on-year every year until 2030. The Australian newspaper has reported that the government is currently receiving submissions on the proposed reform as part of its consultation process, which will end on 24 February 2023.

The Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group have encouraged the government to introduce an adjustment mechanism for imports, based on the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), in conjunction with any tightening of the Safeguard Mechanism.

Australia: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has called for public comment on Switzerland-based Sika's proposed acquisition of Germany-based fellow construction chemicals producer MBCC Group. The commission has raised 'preliminary concerns' over the possible competition impacts of Sika obtaining an 80% Australian market share as a result of the deal.

Sika group responded to the ACCC's concerns with an offer of an undertaking to divest MBCC Group's entire Australia and New Zealand business.