Displaying items by tag: Investment

Russia: The government has launched a strategy to support that development of manufacturing industries that it says will increase cement production by 50% to 90Mt/yr from 60Mt in 2019. The strategy consists of investment in equipment and vehicles, reducing building materials imports to below 1% of consumption, reducing the cost of construction by 30% across all building types and increasing the energy efficiency of building materials by a heat loss factor of 30%.

Denmark: FLSmidth’s revenue in the first three months of 2020 was Euro607m, up by 2.5% year-on-year from Euro592m in the corresponding period of 2019. FLSmidth’s cement division’s sales were Euro240m (40% of total revenue), down by 2.6% from Euro246m. The company said that the coronavirus outbreak impacted results, especially in March 2020, when ‘customer hesitation on large investments intensified, particularly in cement,’ and customers increasingly deferred large investments. It added, “Demand for spare and wear parts is relatively stable, whereas technical services are challenged by restricted access to sites.”

FLSmidth says that it aims to ‘carry out business as usual’ throughout the coronavirus outbreak, with an increased reliance on ‘remote monitoring, maintenance and support.’

FLSmidth’s 2020 financial guidance remains suspended.

Colombia: Cementos Argos owner Grupo Argos has announced a raft of cuts to investments and expenses worth a total of US$245m in response to the impacts of Covid-19. Noticias Financieras News has reported that US$61.2m of the cuts will be to planned investments in expansion projects and raw materials inventory restocking, including to some in the cement business. Group Argos President Jorge Mario Velasquez said that the measures would, “give additional currency for the different sources, cash and funding that the organization has access to and give us relative peace of mind in our cash structure.”

Grupo Argos said it would stick to its US$3.67bn five-year investment plan.

El Salvador: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim El Salvador has announced a planned investment of US$7.5m to establish six concrete plants in 2020, which will bring its total to 18 plants. Esmerk Latin American News has reported that the investment also covers ‘new trucks and other machinery.’ Holcim El Salvador also announced its intention ‘in the long term’ to resume operations at its 1.6Mt/yr Maya cement plant, mothballed in 2008, at an estimated cost of US$20m. It is currently investigating the possibility of installing a US$5m solar power plant at its 1.7Mt/yr El Ronco cement plant.

In 2019 Holcim El Salvador produced 1.2Mt of cement and 710,000m³ of concrete.

Madagascar: Oman-based Raysut Cement has shared plans for a US$30m, 0.75Mt/yr clinker grinding plant in Toamasina, Madagascar. L’Express de Madagascar newspaper has reported that Raysut Cement will begin construction in June 2020 and enter production at the facility in mid-2022 at the latest. Raysut Cement Indian Ocean regional director Pascal Naud said, “Madagascar’s pre-capita cement consumption is around 22kg/yr, compared to 125kg/yr on average in sub-Saharan countries. It is therefore a market with high potential for this investment.”

On 2 February 2020 Raysut Cement entered into talks with Switzerland-based Cementia for acquisition of the latter’s 75% stake in the latter’s LH Maldives cement terminal. The group said it is currently ‘developing an external growth strategy by investing in several African countries such as Kenya and Uganda.’

Gabon: Dangote Cement has shared plans for the construction of a 1.1Mt/yr grinding plant on a greenfield site near the New Owendo Internation Port in Owendo, Komo-Mondah department. Dangote Cement has stated that the US$75m facility, scheduled for completion in early-2021, will ‘close the cement production gap in this emerging country.’ It will supply cement to Gabon and the central African region.

China: The China Commodities Watch 2020 Outlook and Health Check has forecast a ‘one-off impact on operating cash flow’ for Chinese construction materials producers, including cement producers, due to reduced demand during the on-going coronavirus outbreak. “After the outbreak, the government may increase investment in infrastructure,” in order to boost the economy, according to the report.

India: Udaipur Cement Works has applied for environmental clearance to the government of Rajasthan for the construction of a 5.0Mt/yr integrated cement plant in the state. It plans for the plant to have an additional 2.0Mt/yr grinding capacity, a 30MW waste heat recovery (WHR) power plant and a 25MW coal-fired power plant. Project Today has reported a conjectured value for the project of US$224m.

France: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Ciments Calcia has announced a planned investment of Euro30m of upgrades in early 2021 to its 1.0Mt/yr integrated Couvrot plant in Marne department. L’Union Ardennes newspaper has reported that the upgrades will be ‘process improvements’ to grinding and energy consumption rather than expansions to the plant’s capacity. HeidelbergCement director Didier Faure said the group wants to turn the Couvrot plant into its ‘leading site in Western Europe.’ Faure also called for improvements to safety procedures after three people were injured on site in 2019 – up by 50% from two in 2018.

Mexico: Cemex has announced that it will expand its 7.2Mt/yr integrated Tepeaca plant in the state of Pueblo in 2020 into ‘the largest Cemex plant in the world and one of the largest in the entire American continent.’ It did not enclose the capacity of the upgrade, which will cost a total of US$530m.

Visiting the plant on 24 January 2020, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed hope in a boost in private investment in the Mexican economy, which fell by 12% year-on-year in 2019, in the wake of the new Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico and the US. Cemex said that its planned investment ‘indicates its trust in the country.’