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The news that Brazil's competition regulator, Cade, has approved Camargo Corrêa's attempt to control Portugal's Cimpor after over two years of poker-faced mergers, acquisitions and deals, has significantly changed the cement landscape of the country. Camargo will now be allowed a controlling stake in the Portuguese producer assuming that Votorantim, Cimpor's other major shareholder, sells its Brazilian Cimpor assets to a third player. 

The deal looks likely to happen fairly quickly, with Votorantim stating that it never intended to remain as Camargo's partner in Cimpor. Lafarge appears to have first refusal as the original seller of the stake to Votorantim, but Cade may want to avoid this due to Lafarge's strong Brazilian position.

With its Cimpor interests now set to go to another producer, the regulator is clearly looking to spread the cement wealth in the country. Cade also said that Camargo must sell some assets in Brazil's heavily developed São Paulo state - presumably not to Votorantim! An asset swap will see Cimpor assets abroad transferred to Votorantim.

The Brazilian cement market has become increasingly concentrated since 1990. At that time there were 19 different producers; by 2000 there were 12. That number has since increased slightly, but Votorantim, Cimpor, Camargo Corrêa, Holcim and Lafarge still have 85% of the integrated capacity between them. Cade's attempts to moderate their influence is understandable, given that some regions are currently now supplied by Votorantim-owned production to the tune of 70%. Accusations of cartels have been rife in Brazil for many years.

Consumers, both large and small, will be hopeful that the deal will go through smoothly and that a drop in market concentration will reduce prices in the country. Even the Brazilian government is affected. It is seeking to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on road, port and home construction and for expansion of its mines, farms and factories. If prices of building materials can be reduced, it will be able to accelerate its general development and ramp up extraction and production of its valuable natural resources.

Germany: HeidelbergCement AG has announced the appointment of Prof Dr Marion Weissenberger-Eibl as a member of its supervisory board following the resignation of Dr Ing Herbet Lutkestratkotter for private reasons.

"We are pleased that, in Prof Dr Marion Weissenberger-Eibl, we have succeeded in attracting a well-respected top German engineer as a new member of our supervisory board," announced Fritz-Jurgen Heckmann, Chairman of the supervisory board of HeidelbergCement AG. "She is very well-connected in the fields of business, science, and politics. Her extensive experience and expertise in the areas of innovation research, renewable energies, demographic development, sustainability and knowledge management will be a valuable addition."

China: Following on from other Chinese cement producers, which have reported large slumps in their half year profits, Xinjiang Tianshan Cement Co Ltd, based in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, has announced a first half net profit of US$18.9m, a drop of '60-80%' year-on-year.

The company stated that the decline in its half-year net profit is largely due to lower cement selling prices and rising financial expenditure. Other companies have stated that rising costs have included higher fuel prices, although this was not specified by Xinjiang Tianshan.

Meanwhile China's Sichaun Province announced that its cement sector had seen a near-60% plunge in its profitability in the five months to 31 May 2012, despite an 11% improvement in revenue in the entire building materials sector in that Province.

In addition the Hong Kong-listed Taiwan Cement International Holdings Ltd., has also warned that its net profit will decline by an estimated 50% year-on-year in the first half of 2012 due to China's strict macroeconomic controls and shrinking budgets for infrastructure projects.

TCC International reported that its net profit for the first half of 2011 was US$120.23m, although the corresponding figure for the first half of 2012 is likely to have dropped to less than US$60m.

While the slumps in profit have been dramatic, producers believe that they may be short-lived. China's cement market is expected to pick up at the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of 2012 as the country relaxes its macroeconomic controls, loosens its monetary policy and will give more rapid approval to infrastructure projects.

Update - 13 July 2012: Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement Co Ltd has announced that its first half net profit will plummet by about 80% year-on-year to US$8.5-9.9m.

Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement has posted a net profit of US$57.6m for the second quarter of 2012 compared to US$40m for the same period of 2011. This represents a increase of 44% over the US$38.7m made in the previous quarter. The company made a gross profit of US$62.7m in the second quarter, a 48% increase year-on-year.

Over the course of the first half Yanbu's net profit went from US$66.2m in 2011 to US$96m in 2012. Its gross profit for the six months was US$104.8m compared to US$71.7m in 2011, an increase of 46%.

Yanbu said that the the reason for increase in its net profit was an increase in both production and sales, helped by a new cement line and an increase in cement demand.

India: Pine needles, a major cause of forest fires in Himachal Pradesh, are now helping villagers earn money. The needles are being used as biofuel by a cement plant, with locals supplying production on a per-kilo basis. "Gujarat Ambuja Cements is using pine needles along with charcoal in its kiln," said the Divisional Forest Office, Pradeep Thakur. The substitution rate varies from 25-30%. "The needles have good calorific value and it's a good source of additional income for the villagers. In the Hamirpur forest division alone, more than 200 families are involved in the job. According to an official, an average a family can earn US$270/month through pine needles.

Manju Devi, a villager, said, "Since pine needles are not used in homes (due to the presence of various nitrogen oxides), they lie unused in the forests. The demand picked up after the company started procuring them and we are now earning up to US$750 in a season (from May to June)."

China: Two kilns at a plant owned by Taiwan Cement (Anshun) have entered commissioning. The plant, which is located in Chengguan Town, in the Anshun region is one of the key projects of Guizhou Province and adds to the rapidly-growing new capacity being set up in China to replace older and less efficient plants.

The 4Mt/yr project will be fitted with low-temperature combined heat and power facilities, which are expected to produce around 130 million kWh. The project is expected to generate over 800 employment opportunities and will greatly promote economic growth in the local area.

India: Jammu & Kashmir Cements Limited (JKCL) has reported that it achieved an all time record turnover of US$21.8m in the fiscal year that ended 31 March 2012 compared to US$14.8m achieved in the previous fiscal year. This represents a year-on-year increase of 47%. It announced a bold 2012-2013 turnover target of US$32.5m. The company also announced that it produced 172,300t of clinker and 17,600t of cement during the year. It has targeted 255,000t of clinker and 266,200t of cement in the current fiscal year.

In addition, JKCL announced that its cement grinding and packing unit at Samba, would be put into trial production in November 2012 at a cost of around US$5m.

Azerbaijan: Switzerland's Holcim has completed construction of new cement line at is plant in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The new dry kiln will be operated by its local subsidiary OJSC Holcim Azerbaijan, previously known as Garadagh Cement, which currently runs three older wet kilns on the same site.

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, officially opened the new plant today in the Garadagh district of the capital. Holcim has invested US$370m on its construction. The plant's capacity has risen to 1.7Mt/yr as a result of the investment.

Iran: The Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), has reported that around 700 labourers who work for the Sepahan Cement Company have gone on strike. It is reported that they downed tools on 6 July 2012 and have been protesting at the site of the Sepahan Cement plant.

The contract workers had written letters to officials of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare as well as some MPs and informed them about poor working conditions and pay. They said that 'the correspondence did not bear any result.' It appears that the strike is the result of this apparent lack of response. The dispute continues.

Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has revealed that the Pakistan cement sector remained under financial pressure during the fiscal year 2011-2012, which ended on 30 June 2012. This was attributed to increases in input costs in electricity, diesel, paper sack and gypsum and a devaluation of the Pakistani Rupee. However, for the same period the industry's local cement despatches met the highest levels ever recorded in the country.

Revealing the performance of the cement sector in the fiscal year 2011-2012, a spokesman for APCMA said that local cement despatches were 23.9Mt, an increase of 8.84% year-on-year. However exports remained under pressure throughout the year and declined by 9.12% to 8.57Mt. 2011-2012 was the third consecutive fiscal year when exports declined.

In 2011-2012 the cement sector increased its capacity by 3Mt. Total production capacity increased by 7.23% to 44.2Mt from 42.2Mt in 2010-2011. Capacity utilisation remained under pressure due to sluggish export demand, a sluggish construction sector, lack of investment in the housing sector and the government's 'inability' to initiate mega-projects.

Exports to India were only 0.61Mt in 2011-2012, a figure well below the expectations of the cement sector. However, exports to Afghanistan remained stable at 4.72Mt in 2011-2012. Exports to other destinations by sea declined to 3.25Mt, a drop of 17%.