Displaying items by tag: Lithuania

Sweden: Cementa plans to restrict its exports to the Baltic countries and Denmark. Finwire News has reported that the subsidiary of Germany-based HeidelbergCement is enacting the measure in order to focus its cement supply on its Swedish customers.

Lithuania: The Lithuanian Competition Council has permitted Germany-based Schwenk Zement to increase its stake in Akmenes Cement to 97% from 47%. The markets authority also granted permission for Schwenk Zement’s 75% acquisition of limestone and clay producer Kalcitas and 100% acquisitions of building materials suppliers Cemeka and Lanku Bokstai.

Lithuania: Germany-based Schwenk Zement has sought to increase its stake in 50% subsidiary Akmenes Cement to 97%. The company is also seeking the acquisition of a 75% stake in limestone supplier Kalcitas. The producer took over Mexico-based Cemex’s stake in Akmenes Cement in 2019.

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has issued an order amending its previous order on cement safeguards. The Manila Bulletin newspaper has reported that the amendment extends safeguard measures to 13 new countries which now exceed the necessary 3% import volume share. These are Chile, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, Indonesia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and South Korea. Imported cement from these countries will now face a safeguard duty of US$0.2/bag. An official source quoted by the newspaper called the surge in importation from these countries "trade diversion" tactics by importers since these countries were previously exempt from the safeguard duty.

Latvia: Cemex Latvia will be renamed as Schwenk Latvija following its acquisition by Germany’s Schwenk in February 2019. In Sweden Cemex’s operations will be renamed to Schwenk Sverige, in Norway to Schwenk Norge and in Finland to Schwenk Suomi, according to the Latvian News Agency.

The Euro340m deal included one 1.7Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Broceni, Latvia, as well as four aggregates quarries, two cement quarries, six ready-mix concrete plants, one marine terminal and one land distribution terminal in that country. The assets divested also include Cemex’s approximate 38% indirect interest in a 1.8Mt/yr cement plant in Akmene in Lithuania. In addition, the exports business to Estonia is also included as part of the divestment.

Europe: Cemex has signed a deal to sell its assets in the Baltic and Nordic countries to Germany’s Schwenk for Euro340m. The transaction is expected to complete within the first quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approval.

The Baltic assets being divested consist of one 1.7Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Broceni, Latvia, as well as four aggregates quarries, two cement quarries, six ready-mix concrete plants, one marine terminal and one land distribution terminal in that country. The assets divested also include Cemex’s approximate 38% indirect interest in a 1.8Mt/yr cement plant in Akmene in Lithuania. In addition, the exports business to Estonia is also included as part of the divestment.

The Nordic assets being divested consist of three import terminals in Finland, four import terminals in Norway and four import terminals in Sweden.

Lithuania: Akmenes Cementas’ revenue rose by 18.9% year-on-year to Euro67.3m in 2018 from Euro56.6m in 2017. Its cement sales increased by 12% to 1.17Mt from 1.04Mt, according to the Baltic News Service. However, it made a continued to make a loss. The cement producer blamed this on mounting energy and staff costs.

Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania: UK-based EvoQuip has appointed Stokker as the authorised EvoQuip Distributor to cover Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for the full EvoQuip portfolio of compact crushing and screening equipment. EvoQuip is a brand owned by Terex Corporation.

Lithuania: The Bega cement terminal has won a ‘Product of Lithuania’ award from the government. Minister of Economy Virginijus Sinkevičius and the President of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists (LPK) Robert Dargis presented a medal to Laimonas Rimkus, the general manager of Bega, according to the Vakarų Ekspresas newspaper. The joint venture with local cement producer Akmenes Cementas was commissioned in early 2018. The terminal plans to increase its exports of cement to 0.35Mt/yr by 2020.

Lithuania: Akmenes Cementas, Lithuania’s only cement producer, has announced that it expects improved cement sales in 2018 compared to 2017 and hopes to halve its annual loss.

The company suffered a net loss of Euro5.5m in 107, 21.7% lower than a Euro7.0m loss in 2016. Turnover in 2017 grew by 11% to Euro56.7m. The company sold 1.04Mt of cement, 4% more than in 2016.
In 2017 Akmenes sold 58% of its produce to the local market. It exported 35% to other EU countries and 7% to Belarus. The company hopes to increase cement sales and to halve its losses.