Displaying items by tag: Italy

Italy: Buzzi’s net sales decreased by 4% year-on-year to €3.18bn in the first nine months of 2024 from €3.30bn in the same period in 2023. Its cement and ready-mixed concrete sales volumes fell by 6% to 18.8Mt and by 8% to 7.74Mm³ respectively. The group attributed the declines to a “…challenging market environment in Central Europe and the lack of recovery in Italy and the US during the summer.” However, sales were up in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Italy: Cementir Holding has blamed a fall in earnings in the first nine months of 2024 on “lower results achieved in all geographical areas except Egypt.” It added that sales had fallen due to a decrease in volumes in some places and negative currency effects in Türkiye and Egypt. The group’s revenue fell by 5% year-on-year to €1.24bn in the first nine months of 2024, from €1.30bn in the same period in 2023. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 9% to €296m from €326m. Sales volumes of cement and clinker remained stable at 7.98Mt. It noted that volumes increases were reported in Türkiye and, to a lesser extent, in Malaysia and the US. However, volumes of ready-mixed concrete rose by 5% to 3.33Mm³ from 3.18Mm³.

Francesco Caltagirone Jr, chair and CEO, said “The results for the first nine months of 2024 are in line with our expectations and, after several quarters of contraction, signs of a market turnaround in some geographies are emerging in the third quarter of 2024. We are strengthening our competitive position through initiatives such as: the investment on Kiln 4 in Belgium, the restart of the second line in Egypt, the acquisition in concrete in Nordic & Baltic, a new limestone quarry in Malaysia, and the repurchase of a large part of the minority interest in our Egyptian subsidiary, to prepare ourselves for any upcoming market opportunities”.

Italy: Heidelberg Materials has launched a feasibility study at its Rezzato-Mazzano cement plant to explore a source-to-sink carbon capture and storage (CCS) solution, potentially making it the first in Italy to produce carbon-captured net-zero cement, according to the company’s press release. The aim of the study is to evaluate the feasibility of capturing CO₂ from cement production and transporting it via pipeline to the Ravenna CCS storage hub under the Adriatic Sea. Phase 1 of the Ravenna CCS project will be carried out with the help of a joint venture between Italy-based integrated energy company Eni and energy infrastructure subsidiary Snamprogetti, involving discussions between the three companies for a technical evaluation. The project aims to leverage Eni’s depleted gas fields in the Adriatic Sea, which would be converted for use as permanent CO₂ storage sites. The total storage capacity of these fields is estimated at more than 500Mt. Snam is committed to developing a pipeline network to transport CO₂ from emitters to the Ravenna CCS hub.  

Chair of the managing board of Heidelberg Materials, Dominik von Achten, said "We are excited to explore the economic feasibility of a carbon capture initiative in the Mediterranean. Our ambition at Heidelberg Materials is not only to implement a decarbonisation initiative that is highly efficient in terms of resources and energy, but also to provide an important impetus for the development of a regional CCS cluster."

Member of the managing board of Heidelberg Materials and responsible for Europe, Jon Morrish, said "With an aspired capture rate of more than 95% of our plant’s emissions, this initiative aims to explore options for industrial-scale CCS in Italy. This would enable us to supply locally produced, carbon captured net-zero cement under our evoZero brand to customers in the region."

Italy: Buzzi has disclosed its financial results for the first half of 2024. It reported a decrease in cement sales volumes by 8%, mainly due to weak demand in Central Europe and increased rainfall in Italy and the US. Despite this, the company achieved a consolidated turnover of €2.05bn, down by 4.5%. After taxes, the net profit stood at €422m, a 2.1% decrease from €431m in the first half of 2023. The net financial position closed at €898m, compared to €798m at the end of 2023.

Italy: Cementir Holding increased its sales volumes of cement by 0.3% year-on-year to 5.13Mt in the first half of 2024. Nonetheless, group sales fell by 3%, to €812m, and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 4%, to €193m. The producer succeeded in raising its net profit, by 7% to €97m. During the half, it invested €24.7m in decarbonisation, primarily in upgrading the kiln line of its 2.5Mt/yr Guarain cement plant in Belgium.

Chair and CEO Francesco Caltagirone said "Results for the first half of 2024 were in line with our expectations. The adverse weather conditions in the first months of the year and a still weak residential market in the most important geographies, as well as a significant negative exchange rate impact, affected the results for the period, which nevertheless benefited from the reduction of main operating costs".

Cementir Holding confirmed its earnings guidance for the year of €385m (down by 6% year-on-year), but revised its revenues guidance downwards by 6% from €1.8bn to €1.7bn, in line with 2023.

Italy: The President of the Italian cement association Federbeton, Stefano Gallini, has highlighted the disadvantages of cement and clinker production relocating to non-EU countries with lower costs, according to Milan Finance.

New data from from the Federation of Italian Cement Producers reports that imports of non-European cement into Italy rose by 22.6% year-on-year in 2023 to 3.6Mt. From 2018 to 2023, the import of intercontinental cement has increased by 572%, compared to a 6.5% increase in European purchases.

Italy: NovaAlgoma, a joint venture between the Italian-Swiss Nova Marine Carriers and Canada's Algoma Central Corporation, has announced the construction of the ‘world’s largest and greenest’ cement carrier, weighing 38,000t. This vessel will be built by Xinle Shipbuilding in China and delivered by the end of 2026. It will reportedly be the first to use both traditional fuel and methanol and can connect to electrical grids in ports to eliminate emissions, according to local news reports. Additionally, it will feature a waste heat recovery system that converts exhaust gases into 250kW of electrical energy.

Vincenzo Romeo, CEO of Nova Marine, said "This new construction, which meets the forecasts for the development of our fleet and the growth of cement market demand in the coming years, is intended to consolidate our positioning among the global leaders in cement transportation.”

Italy/UK: UK-based carbon capture technology provider Nuada has launched carbon capture trials with Buzzi at its cement facility in Monselice, aiming to accelerate the decarbonisation of the cement industry. The MOF-based VPSA carbon capture plant is now fully operational, capturing 1t/day of CO₂ directly from the facility's stack.

Nuada posted on LinkedIn “Nuada's carbon capture solution is the most energy-efficient developed to date, redefining the decarbonisation landscape for hard-to-abate sectors like cement. Together with Buzzi, we are showcasing the future of carbon capture in the cement industry.”

Italy: The Italian cement association Federbeton has appointed Stefano Gallini as its president. He succeeds Roberto Callieri in the position.

Gallini is currently the CEO of Heidelberg Materials Italia, a role he assumed at the start of 2024. Before this he was the West African Region Managing Director for Heildelberg Materials and the Managing Director for Sierra Leone. Gallini previously worked for Italcementi from 2000 to 2017 becoming the company’s Chief Commercial Officer Egypt in 2010.

Italy: Cementir Holding has disclosed its financial results for the first quarter of 2024, showing a mixed performance. While the company saw growth in volumes compared to 2023, with cement up 2.3%, ready-mixed concrete up 3.7% and aggregates up 8.9%, financial metrics indicated some challenges.

Revenue for the quarter stood at €368m, marking an 11.2% decrease from €415m in the same period of 2023. Similarly, earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 18.1% year-on-year to €66.5m, down from €81.2m in the first quarter of 2023. The company's profit before taxes also declined by 8.2% year-on-year to €58.7m from €63.9m. However, Cementir Holding reported net cash of €76.6m, a substantial increase from a net financial debt of €32.1m as of 31 March 2023.