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For those not following the news in Nigeria, a nationwide row has broken out about the cost of cement in the country. Two of the three main local producers have been forced to publicly defend their pricing. Alongside this, the Senate of Nigeria has implored the federal government to encourage further local investment in cement production with the goal of keeping the end price down.

The current debacle started to take form in the autumn of 2020 when the price of cement leapt up by 35%. Builders and those immediately affected started complaining then but the argument really heated up in April 2021 when the local press started comparing the price of cement in Nigeria unfavourably against neighbouring countries. Dangote Cement, one of Africa’s largest cement producing companies and a Nigerian-based one at that, immediately defended itself by pointing out that its ex-factory price was the same or lower than in other African countries. It added that it could not control the price of cement between its factory and the end-consumer with dealers and middlemen benefiting from the gap. A week later the Senate of Nigeria intervened with its members discussing the issue in relation to a bill intended to liberalise the sector. This week, BUA Cement said publicly that it had no plans to raise the ex-factory price of its cement at the present time or in the future, “…barring any material, unforeseen circumstances.”

The roots of the current crisis go back to the mid-2010s when Nigeria declared itself ‘self-sufficient’ in cement after building up its domestic production capacity. At the same time it discouraged imports and embraced exports. Today, the country’s cement production capacity is around 49Mt/yr and annual demand is around 21Mt. This self-sufficiency path reached one milestone for Dangote Cement in 2020 with clinker exports starting from its Apapa terminal and the commissioning of its Onne Export Terminal in Port Harcourt. Under the old narrative for the sector this was a moment for congratulation. Suddenly though, instead of being seen as the saviour of the industry, members of the legislature were asking whether it was a good thing for Dangote Cement to hold a 60% share of the local market with most of the rest shared between Lafarge Africa and BUA Cement.

The price row has seen Dangote Cement promptly suspend exports from those new terminals. It also said it had reactivated its 4.5Mt/yr Gboko plant in Benue State, which was reportedly mothballed in 2018. It is worth noting here that the Gboko plant was part of that national capacity total above despite being mothballed until fairly recently. Aside from the middleman argument, the producer said that its production costs had risen over the past 15 months due to negative currency effects but that it hadn’t increased its ex-factory prices since December 2019.

A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria in the north-east of the country revealed all sorts of speculation about why the price was so high but few facts. Some of the opinions expressed included: the coronavirus outbreak; low production rates at the plants; market middlemen; and transport costs. What is clearer is that the country’s cement production capacity is more than double that of its demand. On paper at least the nation should be able to satisfy its own needs and then export the same again with plenty spare. Yet somehow this isn’t happening. If the government really believes in self-sufficiency it may be time to take another look at the cement sector, the challenges it faces and the needs of the end consumers.

China: Gao Dengbang has resigned as the chairman and an executive director of Anhui Conch. The company has proposed appointing Wang Cheng as an executive director subject to shareholder approval at the next annual general meeting.

Wang, aged 55 years, holds a postgraduate degree in economic management from the Central Party School. In March 2021 he joined Conch Holdings. He is currently the party secretary and chairman of Conch Holdings.

He started his career in 1983. Since 2003, he has held key senior positions in a number of provincial cities including deputy mayor and a member of the standing committee of the municipal committee of Huainan city, deputy secretary of the municipal committee and mayor of the municipal government of Bengbu city. Wang is currently a representative of the 13th National People’s Congress.

Turkey: Fatih Yücelik has been elected as the 24th chairman of the board of Türkçimento, the Turkish Cement Manufacturers’ Association. He succeeds Tamer Saka in the role.

Yücelik has worked as a senior executive in the construction sector. He currently works as the vice chairman of the board of directors and chairman of the executive board of Erçimsan Holding. He holds a number of positions with non-governmental organisations, including that of Eastern Anatolian Honorary Consul to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, deputy chairman of the board of directors of Cement Industry Employers' Union (ÇEİS) and as a board member of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK).

Germany: Schenck Process Group has appointed Ulrich Spiesshofer as the chairman of its advisory board with effect from 1 May 2021.

Spiesshofer recently served as chief executive of the group from 2013 to 2019 and has been a member of the executive committee of ABB since 2005. He currently serves on the board of directors of Infineon, Munich, serves as senior advisor to Blackstone and is assuming the chairman role at Sabre Industries, based in Texas, US. Prior to ABB, Spiesshofer was Senior Partner and Global Head of Operations for Roland Berger and served AT Kearney in Europe, Australia, Asia and the US for 11 years most recently as partner and managing director of their Swiss operations. He holds a PhD in Economics and a master’s degree in Business Administration and Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany.

Germany: Flender has appointed Peter Waller as its chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from 1 May 2021. He will succeed Ulrich Stock in the post who has decided to retire from the post by mutual agreement. Waller holds international and capital market experience. He was most recently CFO of Swissport International and for CEVA Logistics. Stock, has been employed in various functions in the Siemens Group worldwide since 1991 and joined Flender as CFO in October 2012. He will continue to advise the company.

Australia: FCT Combustion has appointed Andy Bailes as its new chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific.

Bailes joins FCT after working for almost 30 years at Metso in Australia, having spent 10 years as General Manager – Engineered Product Services, where he was responsible for managing a large team covering proposals, sales, technical, commercial and contractual obligation of the EP Products (Grinding, Pyro, Process & BMH) Group within the Australia and New Zealand region. He is a previous winner of the NEI International Combustion Scholarship for Chemical Engineering and holds additional qualifications in Business Administration and Management.

China: Anhui Conch’s consolidated net profit rose by 20% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020 to US$917m from US$763m. Its total operating income rose by 48% to US$5.31bn from US$3.58bn. The group attributed the rise in operating income to the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Ireland: CRH recorded a 3% like-for-like year-on-year consolidated net sales increase in the first quarter of 2021. American regional cement volumes increased by 5% and cement prices increased by 4%. Asian cement sales increased due to stronger volumes despite lower prices. Cement volumes rose in France but fell in Ireland due to the different timelines of the Covid-19 outbreak in each country in the periods under comparison. The price of cement rose in Eastern Europe. The group said that there is currently good underlying demand and continued pricing progress across key markets.

In the first quarter of 2021, the company spent US$200m on acquisitions. It says that it continues to have a ‘strong pipeline of opportunities.’ It earned US$200m from divestment of its Brazilian business. The company continues its share buyback programme with a US$300m tranche to be completed by the end of June 2021. It expects its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first half of 2021 to be ‘well ahead’ of first-half 2020 levels.

Chief executive officer Albert Manifold said “We had a positive start to the year in a seasonally quiet period for our business. He added “While near-term uncertainties remain, as we look ahead to the second half of the year we expect further normalisation in our markets as the health situation continues to improve.”

Mexico: GCC recorded consolidated net sales of US$179m in the first quarter of 2021, down by 2% year-on-year. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 9% to US$49.5m. In Mexico cement sales volumes rose by 6% but in the US they fell by 7.7% due to poor oil well cement sales.

The company’s chief executive officer Enrique Escalante said, "GCC started 2021 with strong financial performance - increasing EBITDA, free cash flow and EBITDA margin. Our results reflect momentum in the industry and show early signs that we are entering into a new phase of the industry's cycle with a stronger demand for most of our products. Therefore, we will focus our efforts in producing cement to supply pent-up demand." Escalante continued "Our backlog and the overall market trends of our business are encouraging in the US and Mexico. Both countries are emerging from tough and uncertain times into brighter months ahead. Our focus continues on maximising production, improving plant reliability, and optimising our logistics network to take advantage of the pent-up demand we are experiencing."

Saudi Arabia: Arabian Cement has placed an order with Denmark-based FLSmidth for the supply of equipment for an upgrade of its Rabigh cement plant. The order includes new DDX top cyclones, a quenching chamber and an ABC Cooler Inlet. Installation and commissioning is expected to be during the fourth quarter of 2021.

Arabian Cement’s chief executive officer Badr Osama Johar said, “With FLSmidth having provided the original line, they were the obvious candidate for the upgrade - we wanted a trusted partner who knows the ins and outs of the plant and is able to secure the success of the upgrade.” The producer previously engaged the company for the supply of its Rabigh plant’s kiln in 2008.