Displaying items by tag: Sales

South Africa: Afrimat has recorded signs of recovery in the second quarter of its 2026 financial year, supported by the integration of Lafarge South Africa and cost savings from migrating Holcim systems onto its platform. The company said that July 2025 marked its highest monthly cement sales since acquiring the business, with both bulk and bagged sales rising.

Afrimat said “Our diversified model ensures the correct deployment of resources across operations. After each acquisition, we allowed time to stabilise distressed assets... we are now beginning to see a steady turnaround.”

The company said it has invested ‘heavily’ at the Lichtenburg cement plant to address historic underinvestment, though kiln reliability remains a constraint. It said “By reducing reliance on costly and environmentally taxing components and incorporating extenders such as fly ash and slag, both abundantly available to Afrimat, we can supply compliant, cost-effective and lower-carbon cement products to the market.”

Thailand: Domestic cement sales are expected to decline by 5.5% year-on-year to 34.7Mt in 2025 due to a contraction in private construction, particularly new housing projects, according to local press. In the first quarter of 2025, sales rose by 9.6% to 8.8Mt. Government projects will continue to expand but at a slower pace than in 2024, which is reportedly insufficient to offset weaker private demand. Political uncertainty may delay the 2026 budget and new project bidding, which could impact demand for government construction projects from late 2025 into 2026.

Brazil: Cement sales rose by 3% year-on-year to 6.1Mt in July 2025, according to the National Cement Industry Union (SNIC). Sales for the first seven months of 2025 totalled 38.2Mt, up by 4%, driven by demand from the real estate sector and a strong job market.

SNIC reported that 3.25Mt of waste were co-processed in the year to date, avoiding 3.4Mt of CO₂ emissions. It said that the cement industry could be ‘indirectly affected’ by US President Trump’s tariffs. The sector also faces challenges from exchange rate fluctuations, which could increase the cost of cement production.

Saudi Arabia: Cement sales by the country’s 17 producers rose by 21% year-on-year to 13.1Mt in the second quarter of 2025, according to Al Yamama Cement. Local demand grew by 23% and accounted for 97% of total despatches, while exports fell by 16% to account for 3% of sales.

Al Yamama Cement led the market with 1.93Mt of local sales, followed by Saudi Cement with 1.36Mt, Qassim Cement with 1.14Mt and Yanbu Cement with 1.00Mt. Saudi Cement topped exports with 376,000t sold, ahead of Najran Cement with 50,000t and Eastern Province Cement at 5000t. Cement expert and CEO at consultancy firm A³&Co Amr Nader said “East Africa and Yemen have seen rising local production, such as capacity expansions in Kenya and the reactivation of plants in Ethiopia, alongside aggressive pricing from Turkiye and Iran.”

Clinker production grew by 13% year-on-year to 14.8Mt, with Saudi Cement producing 2.15Mt. Clinker inventories rose by 3% from 2024 to 134Mt by the end of June 2025, led by Southern Province Cement with 20.2Mt. Clinker exports increased by 39% year-on-year to 1.63Mt. Key markets included Bangladesh, Kenya, Benin, Ghana and Yemen.

South Korea: Domestic cement sales dropped by 17% year-on-year to 18.9Mt in the first six months of 2025, their lowest level in this period since 1992, according to the Korea Cement Association. After peaking at 26Mt in 2023, sales fell by 7.16Mt (27.5%) in two years, driven by a prolonged recession in the construction industry and reduced social overhead capital spending.

A Korea Cement Association official said “The sense of crisis in the cement industry is reaching its worst. Although we have already entered crisis management, it will be difficult to achieve results unless highly effective measures to stimulate the construction economy are introduced. We expect domestic cement sales this year to fall significantly below 40Mt.”

Domestic cement companies such as Sampyo Cement, Ssangyong C&E, Hanil Cement, Asia Cement and Sungshin Cement are expected to see their businesses deteriorate further when results are released in mid-August 2025. Strengthened environmental regulations are also adding pressure to the sector.

Pakistan: Cement despatches rose by 30% year-on-year to 3.99Mt in July 2025 from 3.07Mt in July 2024, according to data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). Local sales grew by 18% to 2.98Mt during the period, while exports increased significantly, by 84%, to 1.01Mt from 0.54Mt previously.

An APCMA spokesperson said “The new fiscal year started on a positive note in spite of disturbing weather conditions in most parts of the country.” The APCMA expressed hope for continued momentum for the rest of 2025, supported by improved macroeconomic indicators.

Morocco: Cement sales increased by 9.8% in the first half of 2025, according to the Department of Financial Studies and Forecasts (DEPF). Growth was driven by a 19.2% year-on-year rise in deliveries to ready-mix concrete companies, a 17.1% rise in sales to precast concrete producers, a 6.4% rise in infrastructure sales and a 6.1% rise in general distribution.

Mexico/US: Grupo Cementos Chihuahua (GCC) reported that sales in the US were up by 8% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025 (April – June 2025), due to higher ready-mix concrete and cement volumes of 21% and 4% respectively. In Mexico, which represents 25% of consolidated net sales, it recorded a 13% decrease in ready-mix concrete volumes and a 6% decrease in cement volumes, impacted by an industrial slowdown and negative currency exchange effects.

The company recorded a fall in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 12% to US$118m, while sales rose 1% to US$364m. Net income fell by 18% to US$73.5m from US$89.6m in the second quarter of 2024.

Brazil: Cement sales rose by 3.5% year-on-year to 32Mt in the first half of 2025, according to the National Cement Industry Union (SNIC). Sales in June 2025 fell by 2% year-on-year to 5.4Mt. Daily shipments grew by 0.5% year-on-year to 0.24Mt and were up by 5% compared to the first half of 2024.

The main drivers of cement consumption remain the real estate sector and the labour market, with continued low unemployment and record earnings. Despite improved inventories, SNIC confirmed weaker demand, indicating a slowdown in activity and increased uncertainty. It also highlighted the instability in the global economy, which raises concerns over the cost of cement production, especially petcoke. SNIC maintained its full-year 2025 forecast at 2.1% growth.

Morocco: Cement sales are expected to reach 6.8Mt by the end of June 2025, up 10% from 6.2Mt in the same period in 2024, according to the Ministry of National Land Use Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Policy.

Sales by members of the Professional Association of Cement Manufacturers (APC) – Asment Temara, Ciments de l'Atlas, Ciments du Maroc, LafargeHolcim Maroc and Novacim – totalled 0.83Mt in June 2025, up by 12% year-on-year from 0.75Mt.