Displaying items by tag: Sales
Argentine cement shipments increase by 10% in September 2020
07 October 2020Argentina: The Asociación de Fabricantes de Cemento Portland (AFCP) has reported a 10% year-on-year increase in cement shipments to 1.04Mt in September 2020 from 948,000t in September 2019. Clarín News has reported that this corresponds to month-on-month growth of 13% from 924,000t in August 2020, signalling the start of a recovery from the economic effects of the coronavirus lockdown.
Chamber of Construction president Iván Szczech said, “There are beginning to be positive indices, such as these cement sales. The sector has been working with the government in different lines to encourage both public and private works while waiting for all projects to be completed.” Szczech attributed the longer-term increase in sales to streamlined business models.
Pakistan: Cement producers sold a record 5.21Mt of cement in September 2020, up by 22% year-on-year from 4.27Mt in September 2019. Exports were 1.12Mt, up by 41% from 790,000Mt. The Pakistan Observer has reported that domestic cement dispatches rose by 27% in northern Pakistan to 565,000t from 446,000t and by 16% in southern Pakistan to 3.52Mt from 3.03Mt.
Uzbek eight-month cement volumes increase as sales fall
25 September 2020Uzbekistan: Producers sold 15.0Mt of cement in the first eight months of 2020, up by 105% year-on-year from 7.33Mt over the corresponding period of 2019. Sales fell by 44% in value to US$67.6m from US$120m due to deflated demand, according to Trend News.
Uzpromstroymaterialy head Botir Khuzhabekov said, “In 2019 cement production amounted to 11.0Mt. By the end of 2020, it is planned to bring production to 20.0Mt of cement of grades 400, 500, and 600.”
Pakistan increases cement dispatches by 5% to 3.52Mt in August 2020
07 September 2020Pakistan: Cement dispatches increased by 5% year-on-year to 3.52Mt in August 2020 from 3.35Mt in August 2019. Domestic sales rose by 4.8% to 2.79Mt from 2.67Mt, while exports rose by 5.8% to 0.73Mt from 0.69Mt. Plants in northern Pakistan produced 2.49Mt of cement (52% of total production), while those in the South produced 2.35Mt (48%).
FLSmidth reinstates 2020 guidance
28 August 2020Denmark: FLSmidth has announced the reinstatement of its 2020 guidance. The guidance predicts full-year sales of Euro2.28bn, down by 18% year-on-year from Euro2.77bn. Earnings before taxation, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin is expected to decline to 6.0% from 8.1%. The company said that the guidance is “subject to higher uncertainty than usual” and conditional upon “no further escalation of Covid-19, no further extensive lockdowns or travel restrictions occurring before year-end, a gradual improvement in business sentiment for the remainder of 2020, and business improvement implementation of around Euro28.2m, of which Euro18.8m relate to the previously communicated improvement activities and around Euro9.40m relate to further improvement activities in cement.” It added, “The cement industry has been severely impacted, and the timing and extent of a rebound remain uncertain. Our goal for the cement business is to generate more stable, higher-margin earnings.”
Australia: Adelaide Brighton has recorded a net profit of US$21.1m in the first half of 2020, compared to a US$13.0m loss in the first half of 2019. Revenues fell by 7.3% to US$508m from US$548m due to a 12% construction decline over the period, according to the company. Residential construction fell by 16%, however mining and infrastructure activity remained consistent with levels in the first half of 2019. Adelaide Brighton said, “Cement demand is likely to continue to benefit from a strong production outlook for gold, nickel, and iron ore in particular, and stable demand from the alumina sector.”
Lucky Cement reports 68% profit drop in 2020 financial year
27 August 2020Pakistan: Lucky Cement’s profit for the 2020 financial year ended 30 June 2020 was US$19.9m, down by 68% year-on-year from US$62.4m in the 2019 financial year. The company recorded a 13% sales drop to US$249m from US$285m, which it said was due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cahya Mata Sarawak’s profit slips in first half of 2020
27 August 2020Malaysia: Cahya Mata Sarawak recorded a profit of US$8.72m in the first half of 2020, down by 63% year-on-year from US$23.4m in the first half of 2019. Total sales declined by 40% to US$117m from US$196m. Cement sales also declined, by 31% to US$46.8m from US$68.1m. The company attributed this to the impacts of the coronavirus lockdown.
Ohorongo hampered by coronavirus limitations
26 August 2020Namibia: Ohorongo Cement, despite not having any coronavirus cases itself, has seen a steep decline in demand for cement due to the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In an interview with local press, Frankleen Alberts, Manager of Customer Relations and Public Affairs at Namibia’s only integrated cement plant, said that, while domestic sales had suffered from a slowdown in public works and lower private construction levels, the closure of Namibia’s borders had all but eliminated opportunities for exports. It had also hampered the company’s supply chains.
Alberts said, “Cement sales have been affected since the outbreak of the virus. We were able to continue supplying our Namibian market without major interruptions while adhering to the regulations under the state of emergency. However, due to the restrictions and quarantine rules by neighbouring countries, our export market suffered adversely.” She added, “Due to the restrictions on travel and flights, the supply chain is affected and this includes inbound and outbound logistics, in terms of export sales.”
Alberts said that day-to-day operations at the company have not been affected by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as the company had introduced regulations as published by government and as required by the ministry of mines and energy to ensure the safety of employees while continuing with operations. None of the company’s employees was furloughed or laid off.
China: Anhui Conch Cement has recorded a profit of US$2.33bn in the first half of 2020, up by 5.3% year-on-year from US$2.21bn in the first half of 2019. Revenues rose by 3.3% to US$10.7bn from US$10.4bn. The company attributed the increases to the resumption of construction across Asia after the coronavirus lockdown and increase sales in western China throughout the period.