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News HeidelbergCement

Displaying items by tag: HeidelbergCement

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Indocement opens 0.5Mt/yr terminal in Palembang

21 March 2018

Indonesia: Indocement has inaugurated a 0.5Mt/yr at Palembang in South Sumatra. The terminal has two cement silos and a packaging plant, according to Warta Ekonomi magazine. The new unit will allow the cement producer to sell bulk cement and it is expected to increase its presence in Sumatra.

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Workers at Ciments Calcia’s Airvault plant go on strike

21 March 2018

France: Workers at Ciments Calcia’s Airvault cement plant have gone on strike, according to the Ouest-France newspaper. They have taken industrial action in relation to an on-going pay dispute.

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Roadblocks remain in the US?

14 March 2018

The latest data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that cement shipments rose by 2.4% year-on-year to 95.5Mt in 2017. Readers with elephantine memories may remember that the Portland Cement Association (PCA) revised its forecast for 2017 down to 3.1% from 4.2% in a release made in late 2016. Shipments and consumption are different metrics but the PCA was heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, however ebullient the PCA’s chief economist Ed Sullivan was at the IEEE-PCA in 2017 about growth in the US in 2018 and 2019, the necessary rise required seems quite steep. President Donald Trump may have handed the major cement producers a tax break but until his infrastructure spending materializes the US construction industry is on its own.

Graph 1: Clinker production in the US, 2013 – 2017. Source: USGS.

Graph 1: Clinker production in the US, 2013 – 2017. Source: USGS.

Viewing the US as a whole is a little unfair given its wide regional variation. As can be seen in Graph 1 clinker production jumped up from 2013 to a high of 76.5Mt in 2015 before taking a dip in 2016 and then rising again to 76.9Mt in 2017. Cement shipments of Ordinary Portland and blended cement show a similar trend over the same timescale except without the decrease in 2016. Interestingly, imports of cement and clinker rose by 18% to 13.6Mt in that year. The major exporters to the US were Canada, Greece, China and Turkey, in that order.

Graph 2: Cement and clinker imported for consumption to the US in 2017 by country. Source: USGS.

Graph 2: Cement and clinker imported for consumption to the US in 2017 by country. Source: USGS.

From a producer perspective LafargeHolcim described 2017 as a ‘disappointing’ year, with overall net sales down slightly on a like-for-like basis. The group remained optimistic for 2018 though, with its hopes pinned on rising employment and housing construction. HeidelbergCement rode high on its acquisition of Italcementi’s local subsidiary Essroc, which enabled it to grow its business in the northeast and midwest. Its cement sales volumes rose by 2.3% to 4.1Mt. CRH noted similar cement sales volume growth of 3% and attributed this to stronger demand. Its business also benefited from the acquisition of Suwannee American Cement with its 1Mt/yr cement plant in Florida. Further growth to its production base is also expected soon as it completes its acquisition of Ash Grove Cement.

By contrast Buzzi Unicem reported a tougher year with its net sales barely increasing from 2016 to 2017. It blamed a tough first half of the year for this as well as weather-related issues due to Hurricane Harvey and then snow in December 2017. Cemex too reported harder conditions in the US, with cement sales volumes down by 6% for the year. Although on a like-for-like basis with plant sales excluded it reported this as a rise of 2%. Again, it blamed the weather but it did note an increase in residential housing construction as the year progressed.

In this kind of mixed environment for cement producers no wonder the PCA backed or, perhaps more accurately, reminded the President of his pledge to spend US$1.5tn to be invested in infrastructure. As per usual the PCA forecasts fair weather ahead for the US industry once the latest roadblock is overcome. At the last assessment it was inflationary pressure. As ever the government opening its cheque book to build things is exactly what the industry needs to build on its promise. Until then expect more of the same. One more thing to consider though is that the Trump administration is also trying to change the ratio of federal-to-state funding for cross-state infrastructure projects. If the states end up having to pay more money for these kinds of projects these may end up running out of funds, delaying or cancelling them. Counting on that infrastructure spend may be unwise until if or when the cement orders come piling in.

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Tanzania Portland Cement given two months to control dust emissions or face closure

08 March 2018

Tanzania: The government has given Tanzania Portland Cement two months to reduce its dust emissions or face closure. Alphaxard Kangi Lugola, the Deputy Minister of State in the Vice President's Office (Union and Environment), said that dust from the plant was causing health issues with local residents, according to the Citizen newspaper. The National Environment Management Council will monitor the plant for compliance. The cement producer said that the plant would work on reducing its emissions.

Published in Global Cement News
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2017 for the cement multinationals

07 March 2018

HeidelbergCement’s acquisition of Italcementi really sticks out in a comparison of the major multinational cement producers in 2017. Both its sales revenue and cement sales volumes jumped up by more than 10% year-on-year from 2016 to 2017. It still puts HeidelbergCement behind LafargeHolcim and CRH in revenue terms but the gap is shortening. Although, as we reported at the time of its preliminary results in late February 2018, on a like-for-like basis its sales and volumes only rose by 2.1% and 1.1% respectively.

Graph 1: Sales revenue from multinational cement producers in 2016 and 2017 (Euro billions). Source: Company financial reports. 

Graph 1: Sales revenue from multinational cement producers in 2016 and 2017 (Euro billions). Source: Company financial reports.

The European markets may be back on their feet but serious growth came from mergers and acquisitions. Along the same lines, India’s UltraTech Cement is set to reap the reward of its US$2.5bn acquisition of six integrated cement plants and five grinding plants from Jaiprakash Associates in mid-2017. Although as can be seen in graphs 1 and 2 it had been doing fairly well even before this.

Graph 2: Cement sales volumes from multinational cement producers in 2016 and 2017 (Mt). Source: Company financial reports. 

Graph 2: Cement sales volumes from multinational cement producers in 2016 and 2017 (Mt). Source: Company financial reports.

We’ve included Ireland’s CRH this year to present the scale of the company. When it says that it is the world’s biggest building materials company, it means it! CRH doesn’t publish its cement sales volumes, which makes it hard to compare it to other cement producers. In part this may be due to the company’s regional-focused structure and its approach to the construction industry. In Global Cement Magazine’s Top 100 Report 2017 – 2018 feature, CRH was placed as the seventh largest cement producer by installed capacity with 50.5Mt/yr. The major story with CRH in recent years has been its steady stream of acquisitions, notably Ash Grove Cement in the US in 2017.

LafargeHolcim may remain the biggest cement producer in the world outside of China but it made an income loss of Euro1.46bn in 2017. At face value its cement sales volumes fell by 10.2% to 210Mt in 2017 from 233Mt in 2016 but this was mainly due to divestments in China, Vietnam and Chile. On a like-for-for-like basis its volumes rose by 3.3%. To this kind of mood music the emphasis on the release of its 2017 results this week was the announcement of a five-year plan to refocus the company. However, reports of overcapacity in Algeria that also emerged this week suggest the group may have its work cut out.

Cemex described 2017 as a ‘challenging year’ as its operating earnings fell due to a lower contribution from the US and South America despite growth in Mexico and Europe. Hurricanes in Florida had a negative impact in the US and the Colombian market suffered from falling production in 2017. UltraTech Cement uses a different financial year to the other companies detailed here, which makes comparisons a little harder. However, its profit after tax fell in the third quarter that ended on 31 December 2017 due to rising costs of petcoke and coal. Undeterred though, its expansion drive continues this week with its continued efforts to try and win the bid for Binani Cement. Vicat, meanwhile, reported falling earnings in part due to the poor market in Egypt. Yet overall its sales and volumes rose in 2017 aided by recovery in France. Finally, Buzzi Unicem rode out the Italian market with its acquisition of Zillo Group delivering a rise in sales and cement volumes.

Wider trends are hard to call given the differing geographical spreads of these cement producers. Europe has been recovering from a decade of stagnation and Asian markets are no longer reliable. South America is mixed with places like Brazil, and now Colombia, underperforming. Yet Argentina is proving one of the fastest growing construction markets at the moment with local plants unable to meet demand. Africa remains profitable and promising as ever but divided between the north and the Sub-Saharan region.

Once the effects from mergers and acquisition activity by the larger cement producers start to fade then the actual situation may become clearer. In the meantime, the effects of the recent cold snap in Europe on the first quarter results for 2018 could be pretty varied. The Financial Times newspaper, for example, quoted one pundit from the Construction Products Association who estimated the industry lost 1% of its annual output to the bad weather in the UK. This may not be great news for any company relying on the European market.

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Hanson Cement drivers strike called off after revised pay offer

22 February 2018

UK: Strike plans by truck drivers working for Hanson Cement have been cancelled following a revised pay offer. The planned industrial action scheduled for 26 – 27 February 2018 was expected to negatively effect deliveries from the Padeswood cement plant, according to the Daily Post newspaper. The Unite union said that its members at eight depots across the UK had voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to accept an improved two-year pay deal.

About 240 workers have accepted the overall package that will mean an increase of 3.7% from 1 January 2018 and for 2019, an increase that could range from 3.4 - 4.4%. The union members of Hanson subsidiary Castle Cement are based at eight depots in the UK at Avonmouth, Bellshill in North Lanarkshire, Birmingham, Clitheroe in Lancashire, Kings Cross in London, Middlesbrough, Mold and Stamford in Lincolnshire. The company delivers bulk and ready-packed cement to customers across the UK.

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Nothing says I love you like a white cement plant

21 February 2018

HeidelbergCement made Italy’s Cementir Holding its Valentine last week in the form of a deal for the Italian company to buy up the remaining shares in Lehigh White Cement in the US. Cementir takes control of the former joint venture by upping its share to 63.25% for US$107m and one of the other partners, Cemex, increases its share to 36.75% for US$34m. Despite making the announcement on Valentine’s Day HeidelbergCement then described the sale in fairly unromantic language, “As a niche product with small volumes, the standalone production of white cement does not fit to the strategic focus on efficiency of HeidelbergCement.” Maybe they could just send flowers to each other next year instead!

More seriously, this latest deal by Cementir is yet another intriguing evolution of the Italian multinational building materials producer. The company says it is the largest white cement producer in the world through subsidiaries like Aalborg Portland in Demark, Sinai White Cement in Egypt and Lehigh White Cement in the US. Its plant at El-Arish in Egypt is the largest white cement unit in the world. In 2016 it reported a white cement production capacity of 3.3Mt/yr from six plants in Denmark, Egypt, China, Malaysia and the US. Its volume sales of white cement were 2.2Mt at this time or a capacity utilisation rate of 67%. In the US it operates two white cement plants located in Waco, Texas and York, Pennsylvania with a total capacity of 0.26Mt/yr, as well as a distribution network throughout the country, which is also used to distribute white cement imported from its partners across North America. In 2017 Cementir produced 10.3Mt of Ordinary Portland (grey) Cement and white cement, a rise of 24.6% year-on-year from 8.25Mt in 2016. The boost was delivered by the acquisition of Compagnie des Ciments Belges. Like-for-like sales volumes increased by around 1.7% year-on-year.

Cementir left the Italian market in 2017 when it sold Cementir Italia to HeidelbergCement for Euro315m. As this column commented as the time (GCW320) the deal seemed cheap given that HeidelbergCement paid Euro315m for five integrated cement plants plus extras. However, Cementir appeared to actually make a profit on Sacci which it picked up cheaply in 2016.

Now HeidelbergCement has returned the favour by selling Cementir the controlling stake in Lehigh White Cement. The German cement producer may have grumpily rubbished the sale in its press release but the language makes one wonder whether this was a quiet part of the Cementir Italia deal in 2017. The white cement industry is miniscule compared to the OPC one but HeidelbergCement has just handed even more control of it to Cementir. From Cementir’s perspective this probably seems very efficient.

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HeidelbergCement continues to benefit from Italcementi acquisition in 2017

20 February 2018

Germany: HeidelbergCement has continued to benefit from its acquisition of Italy’s Italcementi. Its sales revenue rose by 2.1% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis to Euro17.3bn in 2017 from Euro17.1m in 2016. Its cement sales volumes increased by 1.1% to 126Mt from 124Mt.

“The challenges were numerous: energy cost inflation, increased competition in emerging markets, especially in Indonesia, uncertainties following the Brexit decision and bad weather, especially in the USA,” said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement. “Nevertheless, we were able to increase our result from current operations as guided. The consistent focus on efficiency and margin improvement and the successful integration of Italcementi that led to higher than expected synergies contributed to this success. Overall, 2017 was a record year for sales volumes, revenue and result from current operations.”

The group reported increasing cement deliveries in all areas except Africa-Eastern Mediterranean in its preliminary results. In this region cement sales volumes fell by 0.6% to 19Mt from 19.1Mt due to a poor market in Egypt. Otherwise it described its market development in the region as ‘varied.’

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HeidelbergCement sells Lehigh White Cement stake

15 February 2018

US: HeidelbergCement has announced that its subsidiary Lehigh Cement Company has signed an agreement to sell its 51% position in Lehigh White Cement Company to the minority shareholders Aalborg Cement Company and Cemex. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected during the first quarter 2018. Authorisation by the Antitrust Authority has already been obtained.

Lehigh White Cement Company operates two plants in Waco, Texas and York, Pennsylvania with a combined production capacity of approximately 0.26Mt/yr.

“As a niche product with small volumes, the standalone production of white cement does not fit to the strategic focus on efficiency of HeidelbergCement,” said Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “The disposal is part of our global portfolio review and optimisation with the goal to generate additional cash flow in order to support our disciplined growth and increase shareholder returns.”

Cemex, via its US subsidiary, will increase its stake from 24.5% to 36.75% when the deal is completed. It will pay US$34.0m. Cementir, via Aalborg Cement, will pay US$107.m for the purchase of a further 38.75% stake. This will take its total share to 63.25% once the deal goes through.

"This acquisition gives us the opportunity to enter the direct management of assets in the US in a segment, that of white cement, which is our core business, strengthening our global leadership consistent with our development strategy," commented Francesco Caltagirone Jr, President and chief executive officer of Cementir Holding.

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Trucker strike could affect Padeswood

15 February 2018

UK: Drivers working for Hanson Cement are set to take strike action over what they have termed a ‘very unsatisfactory’ pay deal offer. The action is set to take place on one shift covering 26 - 27 February 2018 and will hit deliveries to and from the Padeswood plant near Mold, Wales. About 240 workers voted by 89% for strike action over the two-year pay deal.

The union Unite and the firm's management are holding last-ditch talks today (15 February 2018) in a bid to reach a settlement to avert strike action. The company is part of the HeidelbergCement Group.

The deal on offer is for a 2% pay increase from 1 January 2018, and a further increase in 2019 linked to inflation but capped at 3%.

Under the action drivers will also not spend overnights in their vehicles or use their cab phones between 26 February - 20 May 2018. They will withdraw ‘goodwill’ for the same three month period, i.e. not training of new or agency drivers.

Unite national officer for road transport Adrian Jones said, "Our members regard the two-year pay deal on the table as very unsatisfactory, given the current rate of inflation and soaring cost of living. The proposals also don't reflect the strong contribution that they make to the company's profitability.”

Hanson Cement said it had made a fresh 2.5% offer for 2018 and said further negotiations will take place. He added that they were hopeful about reaching a settlement that would avert strike action.

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