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One of the ironies of the on-going Eurozone crisis is that several of the affected multinational cement producers hold a presence in Egypt. Egypt, which has a population of over 80m and growing demand for cement, should be hauling these balance sheets out of a hole. Instead it teeters on the edge of one. The country, one of the few well-performing countries in Titan's 2012 results this week, came with a sting in its tail.

According to Titan, cement consumption in Egypt reached 'new highs' in 2012 justifying the group's new capacity. Although Titan declined to publish actual figures, it stated that turnover declined only slightly despite the greater total supply of cement in the market. Overall, Titan's Eastern Mediterranean region, which includes Egypt, saw turnover increase by 7% to Euro296m. Yet Titan's operating margins in Egypt were impacted by increases in energy costs. In addition the country's political and economic instability negatively affected the group's outlook there for 2013.

Italcementi commented too in its annual results about how much cement consumption grew in 2012. The Italian-based multinational stated that it grew by 5% from 2011 supported by the residential sector. Revenue grew in Egypt by 2% to Euro564m despite domestic sales volumes falling as much as 15%. As a whole, operating results were slightly lower than in 2011, partly due to the strong increase in the cost of energy factors, notably gas.

Titan and Italcementi are clearly both trying to play up their achievements in Egypt in otherwise dismal annual reports. Other players have no such compunctions.

Cemex encountered a 10% decline in sales volumes for 2012, half its Mediterranean region average of 19%. Lafarge reported that its sales were down by 5% in 2012 and its domestic volumes were down by 12%. It pointedly mentioned the impact of new cement production capacity on its sales. Cimpor in its third quarter results to September 2012 reported a 2% fall in sales volumes and a rise in turnover of 8% to Euro138m.

Looking back at Egyptian cement industry news stories on GlobalCement.com reveals two regular issues echoed by the annual reports: fuel concerns and labour unrest. This week is no exception, with the Egyptian government reacting to price rises related to energy input issues.

A question occurs. How much better would the Italcementi and Titan balance sheets be without the problems in Egypt? It's almost impossible to tell, but one solution would be to tackle energy supply issues by increasing the use of alternative fuels. This is covered by the Global CemFuels Conference & Exhibition that takes place on 11-14 March 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey. For more information and to register visit: www.cemfuels.com.

Netherlands: Van Aalst Bulk Handling B.V. has appointed Dick Borst as International Sales Manager. Borst will be added to the sales team of Van Aalst Bulk handling, that currently consists of A van Aalst and H van Est. Van Aalst Bulk Handling is a producer of shore based pneumatic ship (un)loading systems for abrasive bulk powders such as cement and fly ash.

France: Ciments Français has reported that its consolidated revenue for 2012 fell by 2% to Euro3.73bn from Euro3.82bn in 2011. The Italcementi subsidiary blamed the Eurozone crisis.

Ciments Français' net consolidated profit fell to a loss of Euro85.1m, following Euro270.9m in impairment losses. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 9% to Euro658m from Euro725m. Overall sales volumes for cement and clinker fell by 2.7% to 39.3Mt. This was mainly due to drop in sales in France, Belgium, Morocco and Egypt.

By region, Ciments Français' Western Europe grouping saw its revenue fall by 8% to Euro1.62bn. EBITDA fell by 22% to Euro256m. In North America revenue remained stable at Euro440m and EBITDA more than doubled to Euro51.3m. In Emerging Europe, North Africa & Middle East revenue declined very slightly to Euro1bn. Here EBITDA fell by 9% to Euro287m. In Asia revenue rose by 14% to Euro521m and EBITDA remained stable at Euro84.5m.

In its outlook for 2013 the group expected poor performance in Europe, growing performance in the US and high performance in most emerging countries led by demand for construction materials. Overall the group forecasts for 2013 that its profitability will remain similar to 2012.

Burkina Faso: Germany's HeidelbergCement, together with local partners, is constructing a new US$50m cement grinding plant with a capacity of 0.65Mt/yr near the Burkina Faso capital city of Ouagadougou.

"The construction of the new cement grinding plant is part of our strategy of expanding our clinker and cement capacities in growth markets," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the group's managing board. "These include, in particular, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. For many years, we have exported cement to Burkina Faso from our grinding plant in Togo. Our new plant will strengthen our position in the country as well as in the whole region."

In the future HeidelbergCement's grinding facilities in Burkina Faso and the neighbouring countries of Togo, Benin and Ghana, will also receive their clinker from the a clinker plant in Togo. This facility will be commissioned in early 2015.

It is expected that the grinding plant project will stimulate improvement in local infrastructure and housing. It is expected to create more than 100 jobs at the plant, with even more indirect jobs locally. The project is to be conducted within the framework of a joint venture between HeidelbergCement and local partners and will be commissioned in late 2014.

China: The cement sector on China's A-share market fell on 4 March 2013 following the announcement of new property control policies. China's central government announced on 1 March 2013 a set of measures to reduce rising domestic housing prices. The new measures included higher transaction duties, increased down payments and mortgage interest rates as well as strict purchase qualifications.

Cement demand in China is mainly driven by the property market and infrastructure construction. The market information supplier Chem99.com analyst Lu Ning said that the property market provided about 30% of the cement demand. Data from the China Cement Association showed that profits for the domestic cement industry fell by 32.8% year-on-year in 2012 to US$10.6bn.

Greece: Titan Group has reported a net loss of Euro24.5m for 2012. In 2011 it reported a net profit after tax and minority interests of Euro11m. This is the first time Titan has posted a loss since 1994 according to Reuters data. The Greek cement producer attributed the loss to the collapse of building activity in Greece, as well as the slowdown in Southeastern European markets, which suffered the spill-over effects of the Eurozone crisis.

Titan posted an increase of turnover of 3.6% to Euro1.13bn in 2012 from Euro1.09bn in 2011. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 19.8% to Euro196m from Euro244m.

By region, Titan estimates that demand for cement in Greece has fallen to below 25% of the levels recorded in 2006. Turnover fell by 11% to Euro240m and EBITDA fell by 9% to Euro32m. Exports doubled in 2012 though. In Southeastern Europe, turnover declined by 7% to Euro255m and EBITDA fell by 26% to Euro64m.

In the Eastern Mediterranean region, which comprises Egypt and Turkey, turnover increased by 7% to Euro296m. EBITDA fell by 26% to Euro94m. The Group noted that in 2012 'despite the prevailing political uncertainty' cement consumption reached new highs in Egypt. Operating margins, however, were adversely affected by the considerable increase in the cost of natural gas and electrical power. In the US activity in the construction sector increased. Turnover in the USA rose by 22% to Euro369m and EBITDA rose to Euro6m, from a Euro6m loss in 2011.

In its outlook for 2013 Titan expects 'another challenging year' with continued poor performance and scope for further decline in Greece and Southeastern Europe. The growing cost of production in Egypt due to political and economic issues is anticipated to negatively affect results. Conditions should remain positive in Turkey and the US.

Egypt: Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Eng. Hatem Saleh has said that the ministry is considering imposing of a levy on cement exports due to 'unjustifiable' increases in cement prices on the local market. In a press statement the Saleh added that cement prices had increased by 66% due to a 'remarkable' deficit in cement quantities.

Saleh pointed out that the 'exaggerated' price rises were 'inconsistent' with the recent increase of energy prices for cement plants imposed by the government. He said that the energy rise only represented up to 18% of the price increase seen. Saleh stressed that the Egyptian government will not ignore any manipulation of prices that add further burdens for consumers.

Chile: Chilean cement-and-concrete firm Melon reported a 15.6% rise in revenue to US$458m in 2012. The Grupo Brescia subsidiary saw its profits rise by 3.13% to US$9.19m despite high electricity costs. The cement sector in Chile grew by 11% in 2012.

India: UltraTech Cement announced on 1 March 2013 that it had temporarily shut down its 3.6Mt/yr Awarpur plant in Maharashtra due to workers' unrest. UltraTech reinforced that the closure would not substantially effect the company's financial performance.

Kenya: Bamburi Cement has posted a 15% drop in pretax profit to US$83.3m in 2012. The figure was hit by lower gains on its foreign currency holdings the Kenyan based Lafarge subsidiary reported to Reuters. Turnover rose by 4% to US$437m, but higher costs drove operating profit down by 14%.

"The group anticipates underlying cement demand to continue growing in the region despite a slow start in Kenya influenced by the election period, supported by improved political stability in the inland Africa export markets," said Bamburi in a statement.

The Kenyan Shilling was stable against the US Dollar during 2012, having weakened sharply in the previous period, thus accounting for the lower gains on foreign exchange holdings by the firm.