Displaying items by tag: GCW364

Peru: UNACEM’s income rose by 8% year-on-year to US$295m in the first half of 2018 from US$272m in the same period in 2017. Its cement despatches fell slightly to 2.4Mt. The cement producer attributed the rising income to higher prices. However, its net profit fell by 48% to US$62.2m from US$119m due to less income from its subsidiaries.

Bangladesh: Hong Kong’s Shun Shing Group has ordered two mills from Germany’s Loesche for its local subsidiaries, Seven Circle Bangladesh (SCB) and Shun Shing Cement Mills (SSCM).

SCB has ordered a vertical roller mill for a new grinding plant in Gazipur. With four main and four support rollers, the mill will be used for grinding clinker and slag. It will have a throughput capacity of 400t/hr and it will be the largest Loesche cement mill in the country. The cement mill for SCB is equipped with a Compact Planetary Electric Drive (COPE) and has a drive power of 9.2MW.

Loesche has also received a mill order for SSCM. A LM 53.3+3 CS mill will be used, with three main and three support rollers and a drive power of 4650kW. The mill will grind clinker and slag at a capacity of 180t/hr in a newly-built grinding plant belonging to SSCM in Shikalbaha near Chittagong.

The scope of delivery for both mills includes the complete mill including the static mill components. Both mills will continue to be equipped with Pronamic wear parts, developed by for the main rollers, support rollers and the grinding table. It is anticipated that commissioning of both grinding plants will take place in autumn 2019.

Both SCBL and SSCM produce around 4.4Mt/yr of cement with their production facilities there under the brand ’Seven Rings Cement.’ Additionally, the business areas of the parent company Shun Shing Group also extend to the trade and transportation of raw materials and industrial chemicals for construction.

Poland: Fives FCB has released more information about an upgrade to a limestone grinding workshop for Lhoist Bukowa. In late May 2018 it signed an acceptance certificate with the lime producer for a FCB TSV Classifier 1400 HF. The classifier was selected to close a circuit consisting in a ball mill in open circuit. This FCB TSV Classifier 1400 HF is the third one ordered to Fives by Lhoist Bukowa.

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim’s first half profit fell by 43% from Euro561.8m in 2017 to Euro320.3m in 2018. Sales rose by 2.7% to Euro11.45bn. Under new CEO Jan Jenisch, who took over in September 2017, the company has been slashing costs, announcing earlier in 2018 that it will close its head offices in Zurich and Paris and shed around 200 jobs as it aims to save Euro345.2m/yr by the end of first quarter of 2019.

Jenisch said he was pleased with the sales growth, particularly the acceleration during the second quarter, when sales increased by 5%, up from a 2.7% rate in the first three months of the year.

"Operational issues in some markets have been addressed and we expect to deliver increasing margins as we capture the upward trend in demand through the second half of 2018," said Janisch. "We had a couple of plants where I was not happy that the output was not in line with market demand. We have made sure we can maximise their output in the second half."

Sales were supported by strong growth in India, one of the company's largest markets, where its subsidiary Ambuja Cement posted a 27% increase in profit during the second quarter. However, losses in Africa weighed heavily on the firm, with the regional unit reporting a loss after being hit by higher finance charges and losses from its South African business.

Jenisch said that the Africa and Middle East region will remain tough, while adding that the company would press ahead with its disposal programme. It aims to raise about US$1.73m from selling cement plants."We are on track here. We have done our portfolio review and will hopefully announce something later this year," said Jenisch. "However, there is nothing I can talk about at this time."

Mexico: The Mexican cement multinational Cemex has announced that is planning a new round of asset sales and debt reduction in a bid to speed up its growth and return to an investment-grade rating. It will reposition its portfolio to focus on markets with the greatest long-term growth potential.

By January 2021 Cemex aims to sell US$1.5 - 2.0bn in assets and reduce its total debt by US$3.5bn, while finding further cost savings of US$150m. It also plans to pay annual cash dividends starting with US$150m in 2019. Cemex has given a lot of money back to bond investors and banks in recent years and now is in a position to compensate shareholders with dividends, in addition to recently approved buyback funds, according to Chief Executive Fernando González.

Cemex lost its investment-grade ratings in 2009 during the global financial crisis, when its earnings fell after the company had taken on large amounts of debt to expand through acquisitions. The company returned to profitability following major asset sales and debt reduction. In early 2018 it announced that it was thinking about expanding into growing markets, apparently indicating an end to asset sales. However, it abandoned these plans after a number of shareholders objected.

Debt reduction, cost cutting and asset sales of recent years were successful, but earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), a measure of cash flow, didn’t grow as much as expected, according to González. In addition to lower earnings in Colombia, Egypt and the Philippines, Cemex also faced rising fuel costs.

In the second quarter of 2018, Cemex’s net profit increased by 32% compared to the same period of 2017 to US$382m. Sales grew by 7% to US$3.8bn, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, (EBITDA) were up by 4% to US$714m. Cement sales in the same period increased by 4% to 18.6Mt.

Italy: Cementir Holding’s net profit rose to Euro77m in the first half of 2018, a massive 400.5% increase compared to just Euro15.5m in the first half of 2017. Revenues increased by 5.7% to Euro588.5m from Euro556.9m in the first half of 2017. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) improved by 9.5% to Euro96m from Euro87.7m in the first half of 2017. The impact of the devaluation of the main foreign currencies against the Euro on the gross operating margin had a negative effect of Euro7.9m. At constant exchange rates, EBITDA in 2017 would have amounted to Euro103.9m.

Chairman and CEO Francesco Caltagirone Jr explained that the results were up compared to the first half of 2017 also on a like-for-like basis, without the effect of the acquisition of Lehigh White Cement Company in the United States. The improvement in the gross operating margins in Turkey, Belgium and China, offset the worsening results in Egypt, Norway, Malaysia and Denmark. The results were also negatively affected the unfavourable winter weather conditions in the first quarter in Scandinavia and Belgium, as well as the earlier timing of Ramadan in Turkey and Egypt.

India: Credit rating agency ICRA has said that the demand for cement in India is likely to grow by around 6% in the current financial year, which ends on 31 March 2019. In its latest report on the sector, it said this would be due to a pick-up in the affordable and rural housing segment and infrastructure, primarily in road and irrigation projects.

Vietnam: Vietnamese cement exports in the first seven months of 2017 reached an estimated 17.8Mt, a year-on-year increase of 55% and close to the 18-19Mt target for the entire year. Exports of cement in July 2018 alone were estimated at 2.1Mt, an increase of 43% over July 2017.

During the seven month period, consumption of cement from Vietnamese producers in both domestic and export markets was estimated at 58.3Mt, equal to 69% of the year’s target 83-85Mt.

Pakistan: DG Khan Cement, part of Nishat Group, has announced the official opening of its recently commissioned Hub plant in Balochistan, Pakistan. The company claims that the 9000t/day (2.9Mt/yr) plant is ‘Asia's most modern’ and is constructed entirely from European equipment. FLSmidth was the main supplier of the pyroprocessing equipment, with Loesche supplying three complete grinding plants, Haver & Boecker supplying packaging solutions and IBAU Hamburg supplying silos and loading technology. The plant was built in just 30 months.

Global Cement visited the Hub project when it was under construction in the March 2018 issue.

Greece: Titan Cement’s turnover fell during the first half of 2018 due to a stagnant US market and negative currency effects. Its turnover fell by 7.9% year-on-year to Euro713m in the first half of 2018 from Euro774m in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 14% to Euro122m from Euro142m. However, its net profit rose by 78% to Euro24.8m from Euro13.9m.

In the US the group reported that demand for cement continued to grow but that ‘exceptionally’ rainy weather in the eastern states held back sales and ‘production challenges’ in Florida had to be addressed through increased imports via its Tampa terminal. Turnover declined in Greece due to falling infrastructure projects and a poor house-building sector.

Markets in southeastern Europe reported mixed performance with overall turnover falling. In Egypt negative currency affects limited turnover although earnings rose in both local and Euro terms. In Turkey the net results of Adocim were close to the previous year’s levels. In Brazil a truck drivers’ strike in May 2018 dented a construction market that was showing ‘encouraging’ signs.