Displaying items by tag: GCW240
Colombia: Cementos Argos has reported that its net consolidated income rose by 83% year-on-year to US$556m in 2015 from US$305m in 2014. Its revenue rose by 40% to US$7.91bn from US$5.67bn. The rise in profit was attributed to an increase in market profitability and operational effectiveness.
“The record-setting results obtained in 2015 are the results of a well-planned coherent work during the last decade aimed at transforming a local company into a multinational player devoted to the cement and concrete business,” said Jorge Mario Velásquez, CEO of Cementos Argos.
Overall cement production volumes for the Colombia-based multinational building materials producer rose by 14% to 14.3Mt in 2015. Cement production volumes rose by 13% to 6.2Mt in Colombia. Cement production volumes rose by 20% to 3.4Mt in the US and by 21% to nearly 4Mt in the company’s Caribbean and Central American division.
Cementos Argos also noted that it completed its US$125m expansion of its Rioclaro Plant in 2015. The upgrade has increased the plants production capacity by 0.9Mt/yr.
India: UltraTech Cement has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to buy Jaiprakash Associates’ cement plants, which have a total cement production capacity of 22.4Mt/yr. The deal includes both integrated cement plants and cement grinding plants. The plants are situated in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The acquisition also includes a 4Mt/yr cement grinding plant being built in Uttar Pradesh. UltraTech will pay an additional US$68.7m for this plant once it is completed. The deal will increase UltraTech’s total cement production capacity to 90.7Mt/yr from 68.3Mt/yr. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Emami Cement to build US$70m cement grinding plant
29 February 2016India: Emami Cement plan to build a 2Mt/yr cement grinding plant costing US$70m for commissioning by the end of 2016. The foundation stone for the plant in Panagarh, West Bengal was laid by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Panagarh on 26 February 2016.
"The 2Mt/yr capacity unit is to be located at the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Panagarh Industrial Park in Burdwan district of West Bengal at an investment of US$70m," Emami Cement said in a statement.
Emami Group is currently also setting up a 4Mt/yr integrated cement plant at a cost of US$439m at Risda, Chhattisgarh. The project is expected to become operational soon. Raw material will be sourced from the company's captive limestone mines in Chhattisgarh. Emami is also considering building cement plants in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
Lehigh Southwest Cement Company orders cement mill upgrade from FLSmidth for Tehachapi plant
29 February 2016US: The Lehigh Southwest Cement Company has ordered a cement mill upgrade from FLSmdith for its Tehachapi cement plant in California. The upgrade is planned to increase cement-grinding capacity at the plant by 23% by installing and using the hydraulic roller press for pre-grinding.
The scope of contract for the engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) project including engineering, a new clinker bin, heavy duty roller press HRP-C 1.25 with its auxiliaries, weigh feeder, set of belt conveyors, nuisance filters, bucket elevators and new electrical room for this circuit. The project will also use the new FLSmidth Tribomax wear surface. H&M Construction will provide the civil/structural engineering and construction portion of the work, working for FLSmidth. This will be the first roller press supplied in North America for FLSmidth in the last two decades.
"Our customers focus on productivity. They want high utilisation rates and minimum downtime. Wear parts are one of the key components when it comes to reducing overall maintenance cost and wear solutions like Tribomax reduce the total cost of ownership of the equipment considerably," said FLSmidth Executive Vice President for the Cement Division, Per Mejnert Kristensen.
Deliveries for the project will begin in the third quarter of 2016 and the roller press is expected to be in operation by April 2017.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency defers approval for tyre-derived fuel plant at Bestway Cement
29 February 2016Pakistan: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deferred the approval for setting up a tyre-derived fuel (TDF) plant at the Bestway Cement plant in Farooqia. The decision has been left by the EPA to consent from the local community, according to local press.
EPA Director General Dr Bashir Khan said at a public meeting that unless local residents were satisfied, Bestway Cement would not be issued a no-objection certificate. Residents have cited dust, smoke, noise and water pollution as reasons to object against the proposed plant. Qamar Hayat, a local activist, said that locals would allow the EPA to approve the TDF plant when they were guaranteed pollution would be monitored and that health hazards and property losses would be checked.
Holcim New Zealand opens 30,000t Timaru cement terminal
26 February 2016New Zealand: Holcim Zealand has officially opened its 30,000t cement terminal at Timaru port. Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Rangitata MP Jo Goodhew attended the opening. The US$34m project is intended to serve South Island and lower North Island, according to local press.
The terminal has unloaded two ships since December 2015. The cement producer aim’s for 18 inbound ships a year to Timaru, with the Holcim-owned Milburn Carrier II shipping outbound orders from its berth at the reconstructed No 2 wharf. Another cement terminal is being built in Auckland and is planned for opening in mid-2016.
Cimpor reports loss of Euro71.2m in 2015
26 February 2016Portugal: Cimpor has reported a loss of Euro71.2m in 2015 down from a net profit of Euro27.2m in 2014. Sales fell by 4.3% to Euro2.49bn from Euro2.60bn. Cement and clinker sales volumes fell by 6% to 28.1Mt from 30Mt. Like its parent company InterCement, the cement producer attributed the loss to an economic downturn in Brazil and unfavourable exchange rates.
InterCement makes Euro43.7m loss in 2015
25 February 2016Brazil: InterCement made a loss of Euro43.7m in 2015. In 2014 it made a profit of Euro50.1m. Its revenue fell by 4% to Euro2.49bn from Euro2.6bn. It attributed the loss to an economic downturn in Brazil and unfavourable exchange rates.
“This was undoubtedly a challenging year for InterCement, particularly due to the macroeconomic situation in Brazil, which accounts for about 35% of the cement production, the largest contribution within the company. The scenario was even more complex, as coupled with the economic downturn in the largest market where it operates, InterCement faced average unfavourable exchange rates,” said CEO Ricardo Fonseca de Mendonça Lima in a statement.
He added that the company’s decrease in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin remained high in the international cement market at 20.8%. EBITDA fell by 18.2% to Euro518m in 2015. The cement producer reported that overall cement and clinker sales fell by 6.1% to 28.1Mt in 2015 from 30Mt in 2014.
By region, InterCement has temporarily suspended it grinding plants at Jacarei and Suape and its clinker kiln at João Pessoa in Brazil to cut costs. By contrast its plants in Argentina were working a full capacity in 2016. Co-processing developments were noted in Egypt and Portugal. The Alhandra cement plant in Portugal was the first unit in the company to beat a 50% co-processing monthly rate. A production decline was reported in Cape Verde and operational difficulties in Mozambique led to a kiln stoppage.
Argos Newberry cement plant gains Energy Star certification
25 February 2016US: The Argos USA Newberry cement plant in Florida has achieved Energy Star certification from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its superior energy performance in 2015. It joins nine manufacturing plants that have gained the certification for the first time. Overall, 28 cement plants gained certification in 2015.
“Energy Star certified manufacturing plants are driving the kinds of efficiencies and innovations that keep our country strong,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “They’re proving every day that businesses can save on energy, cut down on bills and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions all at the same time.”
Since 2006, the EPA has certified manufacturing plants with the Energy Star for reaching the top 25% of energy performance in their industries nationwide each year. Energy Star certified plants must have their energy performance independently verified. Plants from the automotive, cement manufacturing, corn refining, food processing, glass manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing and petroleum refining industries are among those that qualified in 2015.
Since the inception of EPA’s Energy Star certification, a total of 148 manufacturing plants have achieved this distinction. These plants have saved over 41Mt million of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
East African Portland Cement issues profit warning
25 February 2016Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPCC) has issued a profit warning due to mounting losses caused by higher financing costs and currency market losses. Its loss for the half year that ended on 31 December 2015 grew to US$5.22m from US$0.64m in the same period in 2014. The cement producer also expects its profits for the 2015 – 2016 financial year, which ends on 30 June 2016, to fall by at least 25%.
EAPCC’s financing costs rose by 50% to US$2.74m, which it attributed to increased use of debt to finance capital projects, including the setting up of a third packing line to support higher sales volumes. Sales revenue rose by 12% year-on-year to US$45.2m from US$40m. Sales volumes rose by 16%.