Displaying items by tag: GCW468

Argentina: Loma Negra’s first-half net profit declined by 68% year-on-year in 2020 to US$14.2m from US$44.4m in the 2019. Sales fell by 30% to US$215m from US$306m. The company said that business was “impacted by the increasing complexities of the Covid-19 pandemic,” but that a strong recovery in bagged cement sales beginning in May 2020 was an indicator of general growth to come in the second half of the year.

India: Shree Cement recorded a profit of US$49.6m between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2020, up by 2.1% year-on-year from US$48.6m in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. Sales fell by 23% to US$311m from US$406m due to the impacts of the coronavirus lockdown, which ended during the quarter, on cement demand.

India: JSW Group has delayed the initial public offering for its subsidiary JSW Cement to 2022 from December 2020 due to lack of demand for cement. Mint News has reported that the company will increase its cement production capacity during the intervening period by 43% to 20Mt/yr from 14Mt/yr.

Managing director Parth Jindal said, “A second consecutive year of decline in cement demand has delayed our expansion plans.” He added, "We will restart capital expenditure projects worth US$160m in October 2020. We're adding 1.5Mt/yr of integrated capacity and 3.0Mt/yr of grinding capacity."

JSW Cement’s cement production fell by 30% year-on-year in the three months that ended on 30 June 2020.

Australia: James Hardie’s operating profit in the three-month period ended 30 June 2020 was US$89.3m, down by 1% year-on-year from US$90.2m in the corresponding period of 2019. Earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) were US$125m, consistent with the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Jack Truong said, “In February 2019 we launched a global strategy to transform James Hardie from a big small company to a small big company capable of delivering growth above market with strong returns, consistently. This is our fifth consecutive quarter of delivering strong results in line with the core goal of that strategy: growth above market and strong returns. I am very pleased to note that not only do we remain on track with our transformation, but we are also accelerating our transformation during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Vietnam: Cement producers sold 45.7Mt of cement and clinker in the first half of 2020, down by 3% year-on-year from 47.1Mt in the first half of 2019. Exports grew by 1% to 15.6Mt from 15.4Mt. The Vietnamese National Cement Association (VNCA) says that producers retain a total of 0.8Mt of cement and 4.2Mt of clinker in inventory.

India: Birla Corporation has shared details of its plans for a US$9.68m upgrade to its 1.3Mt/yr Durgapur, West Bengal grinding plant to expand the plant’s capacity to 1.5Mt/yr. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the company is planning to install a 0.2Mt/yr capacity vertical roller mill at the plant in response to “expected robust demand for premium slag-based cement in the eastern region.”

Birla Corporations recorded a profit of US$8.77m in the three months ended 31 June 2020, the first quarter of the Indian fiscal year, down by 53% year-on-year from US$18.8m in the corresponding period of 2019. Sales fell by 35% to US$163m from US$252m due to subdued demand during the coronavirus lockdown.

India: JK Lakshmi Cement’s profit in the three-month period ending 31 June 2020, the first quarter of the Indian fiscal year, was US$5.93m, up by 13% year-on-year from US$5.26m in the three months to 31 June 2019. Sales fell by 20% to US$111m from US$140m due to the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak.

Fiji: Pacific Cement has been forced to suspend production at its 0.1Mt/yr-capacity integrated Lami cement plant in Rewa Province following the issue of a stop order by the Department of Environment on 7 August 2020. Truck drivers employed by the company say that they are losing US$300/day as a result, according to the Fiji Times newspaper.

The Lami cement plant previously suspended operations subject to a stop order from the Department of Environment due to complaints about dust emissions on 7 December 2018.

US: A container at the Jobe Materials concrete plant in El Paso, Texas exploded early on 9 August 2020, causing damage to communication wires at the plant. KVIA News has reported that there were no injuries, nor any damage to buildings, resulting from the explosion. Fire services are investigating the incident.

China: Asia Cement China’s revenue dropped by 29% year-on-year to US$620m in the first half of 2020 from US$868m in the same period in 2019. Its cement and clinker sales volumes fell by 24.4% to 11.1Mt from 14.74Mt. Its profit for the period declined by 41% to US$131m from US$223m. The group said that in the central and downstream region of the Yangtze River the market peaked in May 2020 following coronavirus-related disruption. However, flooding then reduced demand. In Sichuan, coronavirus and foreign imports reduced the price of cement in the first quarter of 2020.