Displaying items by tag: Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has reduced its consolidated loss after tax to US$1.5m in the first half of 2016 from US$2.2m in the same period in 2015. Its turnover fell by 47% year-on-year to US$23.7m from US$44.7m due to a devaluation of the Kazakh Tenge. Despite this, it increased its sales of cement by 6% to 0.76Mt from 0.72Mt.

The cement producer reported that the Kazakh cement market decreased by 10% during the first half of 2016. It expects a market of about 9Mt in 2016, down from 9.6Mt in 2015. Steppe Cement has increased its market share to 18% year-on-year in the reporting period from 16% and it expects to reach a share of 19% for the full year. Imports of cement into Kazakhstan have decreased by 63% in 2016 as the Russian Rouble exchange rate has returned to its historical level against the KZT. Imports represent 5% of the market down from 12% in 2015.

China: Huaxin Cement’s sales revenue has fallen by 11% year-on-year to US$860m in the first half of 2016 from US$968m in the same period of 2015. Its net profit fell by 91% to US$1.21m from US$13.3m. The cement producer reported falling sales in most regions, with the exception of Tibet and Henan. Notable decreases in sales revenue occurred in Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Guangxi. The company blamed the result on falling prices caused by production overcapacity and ‘vicious’ market competition.

Outside of China the company has started operation at its 300t/day Gayur plant and it is building a 0.5Mt/yr grinding plant at Dangara in Tajikistan. Planning work has also been conducted at a 2800t/day cement plant at Narayani in Nepal and a 2500t/day cement plant at Aktobe in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement’s sales volumes rose by 6% year-on-year to 762,000t in the first half of 2016 from 718,000 in the same period of 2015. However, its sales revenue fell slightly to US$24m from US$25m. The cement producer also reported that its local market share increased to 18% in the first half of 2016 from 16% and it exported 4% of its sales compared to 0% in 2015.

The cement market in Kazakhstan decreased by 10% during the first half of 2016 compared to the same period of 2015. However overall cement shipments from local companies remained stable compared to 2015 as imports decreased by 63% (representing 5% of the local market) and exports doubled due to the favourable exchange rate against the currencies of surrounding countries. Steppe Cement estimates that national consumption will be around 9Mt in 2016.

Kazakhstan: Chinese investors have proposed to build a 075Mt/yr cement plant in the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan. The proposal was revealed as part of 13 memoranda of cooperation worth US$451m signed between the Governor’s Office of Kyzylorda region and the People's Government of Jiangxi Province, China.

Kazakhstan: China Gezhouba has announced that it intends to invest US$178m in a joint-venture cement project with local partners.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement revenue has fallen by 20% year-on-year to US$93.6m in 2015 from US$117m in 2014. However, its cement sales volumes rose by 2% to 1.64Mt from 1.61Mt. The company reported that its 2015 results were adversely affected by a devaluation of the Kazakhstan Tenge and the US Dollar. It also noted a net loss of US$3.4m in 2015 due to a foreign exchange loss of US$16.4m.

The cement producer expects that market demand in the country for cement will be stable or decrease slightly in 2016. This will depend on government investment plans and the general economy. It also hopes to regain its market share of 19% after falling to 17% in 2015.

A few news stories in recent weeks have emerged concerning falling cement sales in Central Asian countries. Steppe Cement reported in mid-April 2016 that its cement sales had fallen by 12% year-on-year to US$5.98m in the first quarter of 2016 from US$6.79m in the same period in 2015. The cement producer noted an overall drop of 16% in the cement market in Kazakhstan, with a slowing reduction in March 2016 compared to the preceding four months. It forecast that the domestic cement market would contract by 1.1Mt in 2016 to 8.5Mt. The country has a cement production capacity of 11.85Mt/yr according to Global Cement Directory 2016 data. So on average this would see a drop in the capacity utilisation rate to 72% from 81%.

Likewise, Italcementi reported a fall in cement consumption in the fourth quarter of 2015 although overall in 2015 it reported consumption up by 9%. It is currently upgrading its Shymkent cement plant to a dry kiln with testing planned for early 2016. Meanwhile, HeidelbergCement – the other multinational present in the country, reported cement sales growth of over 9% due in part to the ramp-up of its new CaspiCement cement plant. How this will turn out after HeidelbergCement takes control of Italcementi remains to be seen.

Then, Holcim Azerbaijan reported that its sales had fallen by 37% to US$56m in 2015. It blamed the resultant loss it made on not being able to cut its production costs fast enough to match the falling revenue. The parent company LafargeHolcim blamed it on a ‘significant’ decline in public and private construction. Elsewhere, the World Bank reported a 13% drop in the construction sector in the second half of 2015 as the government cut investment.

Tajikistan may have broken this pattern as it reported that its cement production volumes rose by 33% to 373,000t in the first quarter of 2016. Over half of this output came from the 1Mt/yr Huaksin Ghayyur Cement plant that was commissioned in March 2016. The same news source reported government estimates that local demand will be 3.5Mt/yr in 2016. Similarly, Turkmenistan reported growing cement production in 2015 due to the opening of the 1.4Mt/yr Polimeks cement plant in Lebap. Otherwise there has been little reported recently from the cement industries in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan although the World Bank has reported that their economies are in reasonable shape.

The multinational cement producers all noted the economic problems caused by low oil prices in the Central Asian countries in which they operate. In February 2016 this was reinforced by the International Monetary Fund after its latest visit to Azerbaijan. The World Bank also expects little growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the region in 2016. Low oil prices have followed economic problems in Russia that have also impacted upon the region due to its economic ties with that country and membership of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

This is bad news for the local markets but it is especially bad news for the Chinese cement industry. As China has faced production overcapacity and falling prices at home, its suppliers and producers have sped off down the Silk Road to seek expansion prospects elsewhere. With this route blocked, the Chinese industry faces one fewer opportunity to avoid the crunch at home.

For more information of the cement industries in Central Asia read Global Cement's feature on the region from January 2016

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has reported a fall in cement sales for the first quarter of 2016. Its sales revenue fell by 12% year-on-year to US$5.98m from US$6.79m in the same period in 2015. Cement sales volumes fell slightly to 190,000t from 193,000t. The company intends to regain market share and increase sales in the south of the country in the rest of the year.

Overall the cement producer said that the cement market in Kazakhstan decreased by 16% year-on-year in 2016. However, the market reduction slowed in March 2016. The company estimates that Kazakhstan’s cement market will reduce to 8.5Mt in 2016 from 9.6Mt/in 2015.

Here are the major stories from the cement industry in 2015 as the year draws to a close. Remember this is just one view of the year's events. If you think we've missed anything important let us know via LinkedIn, Twitter or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Will the year of the mega-mergers pay off?
2015 showed a global cement industry that was consolidating. Amongst the multinational producers Lafarge and Holcim finished their merger and HeidelbergCement announced that it was buying Italcementi. Yet alongside this international trend the large Chinese cement producers, who represent over a quarter of the world's production capacity, have continued their own-government-favoured consolidation. The on-going boardroom scuffles at Shanshui have been a lively example of this.

Where this will leave the cement industry as a whole in 2016 is uncertain but mergers and consolidation are no 'magic bullet' for difficult market conditions. After the fanfare subsided from the launch of LafargeHolcim the first quarterly report emerged in late November 2015 reporting falling net sales, net volumes and profit markers.

BRICing it – growth stalls in Brazil, Russia, India and China
The economies of the BRIC nations – Brazil, Russia, India and China – have all suffered in 2015. Brazil and Russia are enduring recessions. Growth in China and India is slowing down. All of this has a knock on in their respective construction sectors.

Over in China, we report today that production capacity utilisation is estimated to be 65% and that cement companies lost US$2.63bn in the first nine months of 2015. The same source says that at least 500Mt/yr of production capacity needs to be eliminated. That represents nearly a third of Chinese total production capacity or about an eighth of global cement production capacity.

Multinationals African plans accelerate
One consequence of all these international mergers is the transformation of the situation in Africa. Suddenly LafargeHolcim has become the biggest cement producer on the continent, followed by HeidelbergCement, Dangote and PPC. Africa becomes the big hope for the multinationals as established markets continues to flounder and growth in Asian and South American markets slackens. Perversely though, should African development growth slow it may cast a poor light on the mega-mergers of 2015 in the coming years.

Dangote Cement is growing fast and it may overtake HeidlebergCement soon as the second largest cement producer in Africa. Yet it may not be plain sailing for the Nigerian company. As we report today, sources in Gambia say that Dangote's plans to open a cement plant are on hold in part to protect its domestic suppliers.

The Gambian government has denied a licence to Dangote to open a cement plant. Dangote has built its empire in recent years by forcing out cement importers from Nigeria. As it expands in other countries in Africa it may now be facing a backlash to playing the nationalist card at home as other countries too desire 'self-sufficiency' in cement production.

Iran shakes off the sanctions
In July 2015 Iran and the P5+1 countries agreed to lift trade sanctions from Iran. The implications for the local cement industry are immense given that the country was the joint-fourth largest producer in 2014, based on United States Geological Survey data. Remove the sanctions and, in theory, the local economy should boom leading to plenty of construction activity. Notably, at the launch of LafargeHolcim the new CEO Eric Olsen was asked for the new group's position on Iran. It didn't have one but this will change.

China expands along the Silk Road
China's cement industry may be suffering at home but it has been steadily expanding in Central Asia. Notably Huaxin Cement has plants in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan and it has new projects in the pipeline. Business may be down at home but steady advancement abroad may offer the Chinese cement industry the lifeline it needs.

Cop out at COP21?
And finally... The 2015 Paris Climate Conference announced a diplomatic coup d'etat in December 2015. However, it apparently forgot to include any binding targets. The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) pre-empted the decision by announced its aim to reduce CO₂ emissions by clinker producers by 20 - 25% by 2030... Provided the entire cement industry follows its lead. Cement plants burning vast swathes of dirty fossil fuels may not have to worry quite yet.

For more a more detailed look at trends in the cement industry check out the Global Cement Top 100 Report in the December 2015 issue of Global Cement Magazine.

Global Cement Weekly will return on 6 January 2016. Enjoy the holidays if you have them.

Kazakhstan: The Governor of Aktobe, Berdybek Saparbayev, and Chairman of the Board of Huaxin Cement, Xu Yongmo, have signed an agreement on an investment project for the construction of a cement plant in Kargaly, Aktobe.

Huaxin Cement has decided to invest US$150m in the construction of the 1Mt/yr plant, which will produce different cement types, including oil-well cement. The construction of the plant is scheduled to start in the middle of 2016. The project does not require any investment from the state budget. In addition, it will reduce the need to import cement from Russia.