Displaying items by tag: Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan: The State Statistics Committee says that the country produced more than 3.2Mt/yr of cement in the first nine months of 2018. The record figure is a rise of 21.2% year-on-year from the same period in 2017, according to the Turan Information Agency. The production growth has been attributed to protectionist policies by the local government including introducing tariffs on cement imports. These duties were started in 2016 and will run until 2020.

Azerbaijan: LafargeHolcim has increased its stake in Holcim Azerbaijan to 76% from 66%. The move followed the decision by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to sell its 10% equity stake in the cement producer, according to ABZ News. Remaining shares in company are held by individual shareholders.

Azerbaijan: In the first seven months of 2018, Azerbaijan produced 1.92Mt of cement, a 21.6% increase compared to the same period of 2017. The country also produced 17,000t of lime (a 27.3% increase) and 811,100t of finished concrete (an increase of 2.2 times).

Azerbaijan: Norm Cement’s sales grew by 47% year-on-year to US$74m in 2017 from US$50.4m in the same period in 2016. Its operating profit more than tripled to US$22.6 from US$6.62m. However, the cement producer reported that it paid US$25,000 in income tax in 2017 compared to US$710,000 in 2016.

Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan intends to become self sufficient in all building materials, according to the country’s Deputy Minister of Economy Niyazi Safarov, who was speaking during the recent Azerbaijan-EU Business Forum in Baku.
"Today, Azerbaijan is fully self-sufficient in many types of building materials, for example cement and brick,” said Safarov. "The development of the construction sector allows the creation of new jobs, attracts investment and increases demand in other sectors of the economy.”

Azerbaijan: Akkord Cement plans to increase production at its Gazakh plant to 1.3Mt/yr from 1Mt/yr. It is working with an unnamed German company on the investment for the project, according to the Trend News Agency. The cement producer mostly sells its cement locally, with some export sales to Georgia.

Azerbaijan: Holcim Azerbaijan has launched its Spesial 400 Cement product. The general-purpose cement product is intended for mid-strength concrete applications. It follows the launch of the Optimal 300 product in 2017.

Azerbaijan: Cement production rose by 243% year-on-year to 2.88Mt in 2017. Data from the State Statistics Committee showed that the overall value of building materials produced increased by nearly half to US$333m in the period, according to the Trend News Agency.

Azerbaijan: Frederic Guimbal was appointed director general of Holcim Azerbaijan OJSC. Guimbal took up his duties in October, replaced Rossen Papazov in this post. Prior to this role, Guimbal served as CEO of Holcim India.

Azerbaijan: The Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has declined to increase its participation share in the capital of Holcim Azerbaijan to 20%. No reason for the refusal has been disclosed. The bank currently holds a 10% share in the cement producer, according to Trend News Agency. The EBRD has been considering increasing its share in the cement producer since mid-2016. It said that it would continue its support in the development of Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector. Holcim Azerbaijan’s main shareholder is LafargeHolcim. It owns a 66% of the company. The bank expects government infrastructure projects to pick up the sector in the medium to long term.