Displaying items by tag: BUA Group

Nigeria: The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) plans to merge with Kalambaina Cement, a subsidiary of BUA Cement. CCNN operates a 0.5Mt/yr plant at Sokoto and Kalambaina Cement runs a 1.5Mt/yr plant, also in Sokoto state, according to the This Day newspaper. The merger is intended to improve CCNN’s competitiveness locally and take advantage of the newly-built Kalambaina Cement plant.

Nigeria: BUA Group is ready to commission a new 1.5Mt/yr cement production line at its Sokoto Cement plant in the northwest of the country. The upgrade will increase production at the unit to 0.5Mt/yr, according to the Vanguard newspaper. The company exports cement from the plant to neighbouring Niger. The new line will run on coal and natural gas. The cement producer also operates a 3.5Mt/yr plant at Okpella & Obu in Edo state in the mid-west of the country.

Nigeria: Devakumar Edwin, the executive director of Dangote Cement, has accused BUA Group of illegally mining limestone at a site near Okene in the south of Kogi state. He made the comments at a press conference in response to public comments by Abdulsamad Rabiu, the chief executive officer (CEO) of BUA Group, that Dangote Cement had ‘sabotaged’ its operations, according to the This Day newspaper. The dispute between Dangote Cement, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and BUA is currently pending before the Federal High Court.

According to Edwin, Dangote Group first acquired an interest in the mining lease in 2014 after a previous company obtained the rights in 2007. However, BUA claimed access to the lease when it later purchased Edo Cement, a company also operating in the area. BUA Group responded to Edwin’s claims by stating that it does not have any operations in Okene, Kogi State where the disputed lease is located.

Nigeria: The head of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has publicly rebutted accusations by Abdulsamad Rabiu, the chief executive officer (CEO) of BUA Group, that the ministry and Dangote Cement have ‘sabotaged’ operations at the company. Rabiu made the allegations in a letter sent to President Muhammadu Buhari, according to the This Day newspaper.

Rabiu says that the rival cement company and the ministry colluded in a legal dispute about operations at Okpella in Edo State and mineral resources. Allegedly, a militia attempted to damage the cement plant before security forces intervened. Later government officials and police tried to stop work at a BUA Cement mine despite on-going legal action.

Mohammed Abass, the head of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, responded by describing Rabiu’s accusations as, “…an unwarranted campaign of calumny against the ministry.” He added that the cement company was attempting to blackmail the ministry into granting a ‘free pass’ for illegal operations. The ministry says that it issued a Stop Work Order for the disputed mine in 2015 but that BUA Group ignored it and has continued to work at the site whilst the legal case was pending. Later, the staff of BUA Group resisted an attempt to shut the site down in mid-November 2017.

Nigeria: The Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo commissioned the 3Mt/yr second kiln line at the BUA Obu Cement plant at Okpella, Edo State on 30 August 2017. He had earlier performed the ground-breaking ceremony at the start of the construction phase of the line. Once the line is fully commissioned in early 2018, it will bring the plant’s capacity to 6Mt/yr.

"This project is a big boost to the Nigerian economy and it will provide employment opportunity for both the skilled and unskilled youths of this state and the country at large," said Osinbajo, adding that the plant's capacity would consolidate Nigeria's self-sufficiency in cement and be a big boost to the nation's export capacity

Nigeria: Alhaji Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu, the chairman of Bua Group, has promised that cement prices will soon fall. He made the comments after meeting with Yemi Osinbajo, the vice-president of the country, according to the This Day newspaper. He cited a fall in the price of low pour fuel oil (LPFO) and more favourable foreign exchange rates. He added that the three major cement producers were working ‘hard’ to reduce prices. However, he did not reveal a date for the reduction.

Nigeria: Bua Group plans to reach a cement production capacity of 10Mt/yr via upgrade projects at its Edo and Sokoto plants by the end of 2018, according to its chairman and chief executive officer Abdul Salman Rabiu. He made the comments to local press at the company's 2016 annual customer forum and awards ceremony in Abuja.

Nigeria: Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, the chairman of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), has warned that the price of cement may rise if the Naira continues to devalue. He made the comments at the company’s Annual General Meeting according to the Nation newspaper. Imported inputs such as fuel, machinery, spare parts and gypsum would all be affected by local currency depreciation. The cement producer was forced to shut down its Sokoto cement plant for intermittent periods in late 2015 due to poor supplies of low pour fuel oil (LFPO) from the Kaduna refinery.

The subsidiary of BUA Group reported that its turnover fell by 14% year-on-year to US$41.4m in 2015 from US$48m in 2014. Its profit after tax fell by 37% to US$3.81m from US$6.09m.

Nigeria: Nigerian conglomerate BUA Group has signed US$600m worth of contracts with China's Sinoma International Engineering Co. to double capacity at its flagship cement plant as it seeks to expand market share in Africa's biggest economy.

BUA plans to double the capacity of its Obu cement plant which currently has a capacity of 3.5Mt/yr, with completion expected in 2017. The contract was signed at Sinomas offices in China.

Executive chairman Abdulsamad Rabiu said, "BUA has less than 10% of the market share now but afterwards we should go to about 20%. Rabiu said that BUA, like Nigeria's largest cement producer Dangote Cement, was planning a continent-wide expansion.

Nigeria: The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), part of BUA Group, has declared a post-tax profit of US$9.64m for the 2014 financial year, some 23.1% higher than in the 2013 financial year.

CCNN chairman, Abdulsamad Rabiu, said that despite lower cement sales recorded in the last quarter of 2014 mainly due to pockets of unrest in CCNN's business markets, the company's focus on efficiency and strategic investments resulted in steady growth during the period. From a high of US$13.9m in 2013, CCNN's production and operational expenses significantly declined to US$12.1m in 2014. CCNN also announced plans to expand its cement plant to 2Mt/yr of cement capacity with a US$241m investment.