Displaying items by tag: Shanshui Cement

China: Shanshui Cement has said that it expects its first-quarter losses to rise year-on-year in 2020 due to coronavirus. ET Net News has reported that, though losses are normal in the quarter containing the winter shutdown, they are expected to have been greater than usual in 2020 due to decreased sales and delays to startup caused by the outbreak.

China: Shanshui Cement ended the nine months to September 2019 with a net profit of US$352m, up by 46.6% year-on-year from US$221m in the corresponding period of 2018. Revenue increased by 28.5% to US$2.3bn from US$1.8bn.

Cement price rises by the major Chinese cement producers boosted sales revenue and profits in 2018. This is quite a trick, given that overall cement sales in the country have fallen by 11% year-on-year to 2.17Bnt in 2018 from a high of 2.45Bnt in 2014.

Graph 1: Cement sales in China, 2009 – 2018. Source: National Bureau of Statistics China.

On the corporate side most of the major Chinese producers issued positive profit alerts towards the end of 2018 and this has been followed up by (mostly) glowing financial reports. Data from the National Development and Reform Commission in February 2019 showed that the profits of local cement companies more than doubled to US$64bn in 2018 compared to 2017. As mentioned above, this has been fueled by price rises. In December 2018 the average price of cement was 10.6% higher than in December 2017.

This has translated into a 19% year-on-year rise in sales revenue at China National Building Material Company (CNBM) to US$32.6bn in 2018 from US$27.4bn in 2017 and its profit grew by 44% to US$2.09bn from US$1.46bn. Anhui Conch’s performance was even better. Its revenue grew by 70.5% to US$19.1bn from US$11.2bn. However, differences emerge between the two companies in terms of cement sales volumes. CNBM’s sales volumes fell by 2.4% to 323Mt. However, Anhui Conch’s sales volumes increased by 25% to 368Mt. This may not be in line with the government’s plans to scale down production but it does fit the industry consolidation model, as the company acquired Guangdong Qingyuan Cement in 2018. The results from other producers such as China Shanshui Cement, West China Cement, Tianrui Cement and China Resources Cement all tell similar tales.

If the figures from the National Bureau of Statistics China (NBS) above are accurate then this is a drop of over 300Mt of cement sales over four years. This is more than the cement sales of every other country except India. Indeed, it’s more cement than some continents make! It marks the deceleration of the Chinese industry since 2014 and represents a major achievement. However, whether it is enough remains to be seen. After all, sales of over 1500kg/capita are still way above the consumption curve for developed Western-style economies. Yet, imports of cement to China from Vietnam rose in 2018, suggesting that the price rises are being driven by shortages of cement!

China is undoubtedly an exceptional case, as its economic star has blossomed in the last few decades and it has literally built itself into history. Yet one might expect its consumption to be around 1Bnt/yr, a per-capita level more similar to Spain and Italy prior to the financial crash. In other words, even if the recently observed 5% year-on-year contraction is maintained, the Chinese industry would only reach this (still very high) level by the mid 2030s. However, continued national development, mega-infrastructure projects, a shift to more exports and China’s unique market could hold the consumption per capita figure higher.

Meanwhile, Chinese producers are commissioning more and more projects outside of China. Notably, CNBM saw its cement sales everywhere except for the Middle East and China. Success abroad is not guaranteed. The story in the years to come will be the balance between projects at home and those abroad.

China: Stephen Liu Yiu-keung has resigned as the chairman of Shanshui Cement. He will be succeeded by Li Liufa, according to the Hong Kong Standard newspaper. Other personnel changes include the resignations of Li Heping as an executive director and chief executive, of Han Yike as the chairman and legal representative of Shandong Shanshui Li Heping as vice chairman.

China: China Shanshui Cement has obtained an injunction from the High Court in Hong Kong against its former management from posing as current managers, from entering the premises of, removing assets from or soliciting the employees of Shandong Shanshui. The injunction also prevents Mi Jingtian, Zhao Liping, Li Maohuan and Yu Yuchuan from each removing assets up to the value of US$20.5m from Hong Kong. The legal action follows an ‘illegal’ occupation in early April 2017 of the Jinan properties of its Shandong Shanshui subsidiary, during which representatives of Shanshui Cement were accosted by a hostile crowd.

China: Shanshui Cement has said that the Jinan properties of its Shandong Shanshui subsidiary have been illegally occupied by Mi Jingtian, the former deputy general manager of the company and his associates. When the representatives of Shanshui Cement attempted to repossess the unit they were held against their will for over two hours by a hostile crowd until local police helped them to escape. During the debacle some of the directors of Shanshui Cement were hurt. The assailants were also reported as having used pepper spray, smoke bombs and water cannons. Shanshui Cement has called upon the local authorities to investigate the occupation of the properties. Mi Jingtian along with Li Maohuan, Yu Yuchuan, Zhao Liping, Chen Zhongsheng and Liu Xianliang were all dismissed from Shandong Shanshui in early 2017.

China: Shanshui Cement has regained control over Liaocheng Shanshui, a subsidiary that was illegally occupied by ‘unidentified people’. The local government and police helped the company take back the cement plant and its offices. Normal production has resumed.

During the occupation the offices were ransacked and the official seal and business license of Liaocheng Shanshui were stolen. Shandong Shanshui and Liaocheng Shanshui have announced that, the stolen seal of Liaocheng Shanshui has been invalidated since 16 June 2016.

In a statement the company has confirmed that a corporate dispute is on-going between Shanshui Zhonggong, Shandong Shanshui and Liaocheng Shanshui. It believes that the occupation was related to this. Shanshui Cement has faced financial troubles since a shareholder battle for control of the company took place in late 2015.

China: Li Liufa has resigned from Shanshui Cement with effect from 31 May 2016. He held the positions of an executive director, the chairman of the board, and the chairman of both the nomination committee and the executive committee of the company.

Li stated that his resignation would reduce potential conflicts of interest in any future fundraising campaigns by the company. The company and its major shareholder Tianrui Group is exploring various fundraising options, including equity fundraising, to resolve the financial difficulties of the group and to restore the public float of the company.

China: CNBM has cancelled its acquisition of Shanshui Cement due to changes in the board composition, disputes regarding the control of Shandong Shanshui Cement Group, the financial difficulties of Shanshui Cement and the prolonged suspension of trading of the shares in Shanshui Cement. It added that the final issue ‘significantly and adversely’ affected the liquidity of the company and impaired attempts to determine the current market price of shares in Shanshui Cement. Shanshui Cement has faced financial troubles since a shareholder battle for control of the company took place in late 2015.

China: Yang Luyu, the mayor of Jinan in Shangdong province, is being investigated for corruption by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). Yang has been accused of ‘serious disciplinary violations’ according to Xinhua news agency. He is also the city's Communist Party deputy secretary.

Yang was named in a writ filed with a Hong Kong court in March 2016 according to the South China Morning Post. Two companies, China Pioneer Cement (Hong Kong) and Shandong Shanshui Cement Group, allege that Yang and his deputy mayor, Su Shuwei, conspired with former company directors to take control of the Jinan plant on 7 December 2016. The ex-directors were named as Zhang Caikui and his son Zhang Bin.

China Pioneer Cement (Hong Kong) and Shandong Shanshui Cement Group are subsidiaries of China Shanshui Cement Group. Shanshui Cement has faced financial troubles since a battle for control of the company that took place in late 2015 between Tianrui Cement, its biggest shareholder, and the Zhang family, its second-largest shareholder and former owners.