Displaying items by tag: construction

North America: Holcim has announced plans for a full capital market separation of its North American business. Subject to shareholder approval, it will subsequently list the business in the US in the first half of 2025. The group will communicate the final structure of the separation, which it expects to execute as a spin-off, later in 2024. Reuters has reported that Holcim chair and chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said that the North American business may attract a valuation of US$30bn upon listing, with Holcim retaining no stake. The business recorded an estimated earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of over 27% in 2023. Following the US listing of the business, Holcim itself expects to continue its inclusion in the Swiss Market Index in Switzerland.

Jenisch said “Holcim has reached a new level of financial performance and a superior earnings profile with industry-leading margins and a strong balance sheet. The success of our North American business makes it the leading pure-play building solutions company in the region. With a US listing, we will unleash its full potential to be the partner of choice for our customers in one of the world’s most attractive construction markets. As we fully capitalise on the region’s infrastructure and construction boom, we will accelerate growth and unlock value for our stakeholders.”

Germany: Heidelberg Materials will stop producing clinker at its 700,000t/yr Hanover cement plant in Lower Saxony later in 2024, and transition the plant to grinding-only. The producer took the decision following a ‘significant drop’ in its cement sales, amid local low construction activity and a market shift towards lower-cement materials. Nonetheless, it intend to raise its capacity utilisation at its 1Mt/yr Ennigerloh, 900,000t/yr Geseke and 400,000t/yr Paderborn cement plants in neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia. These will supply clinker to the Hanover grinding plant in future. Heidelberg Materials says that the plant's strategic location will ensure its continued importance in regional cement supply. Part of the 120-strong workforce at the Hanover plant will remain at the new grinding plant. The company will collaborate with the works council to find ‘acceptable solutions’ for the remainder of the team, possibly including intra-group transfers to other divisions and locations.

The Calix consortium’s on-going LEILAC 2 carbon capture project will now move from the Hanover plant to another Heidelberg Materials plant. Australia-based Calix is collaborating with Heidelberg Materials to identify a suitable new site as quickly as possible.

US: Portland Cement Association (PCA) chief economist and senior vice president of market intelligence Ed Sullivan forecast a recovery of the US economy in the second half of 2024 at the World of Concrete conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, Sullivan told attendees that the economy will ‘gradually weaken’ in the first half of the year. The anticipated weakening is compounded by the end of Covid-19 relief programmes, delayed monetary policy effects and credit tightening. Supporting growth throughout the year are some of the US$550bn infrastructure investments under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The US government says that 40,000 new projects under the act are either in progress or completed.

Ed Sullivan said "In terms of the construction outlook, there will be a battle between interest sensitive construction sectors and less interest sensitive construction activity such as infrastructure spending and the construction of large manufacturing plants associated with the CHIPS and Science Act."

India: Dalmia Bharat's consolidated sales were US$433m in the third quarter of the 2024 financial year (1 October – 31 December 2023), up by 7.3% year-on-year. This was in part due to an 8.1% rise in the company’s cement sales volumes, amid a nationwide infrastructure spending drive. Its net profit rose by 22% year-on-year to US$32m. The producer partly attributed this to a market correction in the price of raw materials. Premium products accounted for 21% of Dalmia Bharat’s cement sales during the quarter.

Managing director and CEO Puneet Dalmia said “While we believe that margins may improve further from here on, our focus for the next 12 – 15 months will remain on improving our capacity utilisation and delivering industry-leading volume growth.”

Switzerland: Swiss cement shipments dropped by 10% year-on-year to 3.7Mt in 2023, from 4.1Mt in 2022. Shipments declined across all quarters, including by 10% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter. Cement with a reduced clinker factor grew to account for 96% of shipments from 95%, and rail shipments rose to 38%. Ready-mixed concrete plants received 73% of shipments, and building sites 21%.

The Swiss cement association, Cemsuisse, said that it anticipates continued uncertainties and high import pressures in 2024.

Argentina: Cement shipments across Argentina totalled 12.6Mt nationally in 2023, down by 3.2% year-on-year from 13Mt in 2022. Central de Noticias News has reported that the Portland Cement Manufacturers Association (AFCP) attributed this to the continuing ‘paralysis’ of private and public construction projects. The Construction Index dropped by 7.9% year-on-year in 2023.

Brazil: Brazil consumed 62Mt in 2023, down by 1.7% year-on-year, according to data from the National Cement Industry Association (SNIC). This marks the second successive year of decline, after demand dropped by 2.8% to 63.1Mt in 2022. As a result, cement’s value on the National Construction Cost Index dropped by 6%, after having risen by 13% in 2022. The domestic cement industry recorded a capacity utilisation rate of 66% in 2023.

SNIC president Paulo Camillo Penna noted high household debt, high interest rates and poor income growth as impacting the industry’s sales. He said “The My House, My Life housing programme was not fully operational until the middle of the year. Up to September 2023, the construction industry experienced a 16% decline in the number of real-estate launches.” He continued “By 2026, we will experience a period of turnaround for the cement industry.”

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has announced the signing of its latest partnership agreement, with single-family home construction firm Groupe Trecobat. Under the agreement, Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies will supply its clinker-free alternative cement for Groupe Trecobat’s property developments throughout western France. Groupe Trecobat generated Euro203m in sales in 2023.

Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said "We are delighted to be working with a leading player in single-family home construction such as Groupe Trecobat. This local partnership, which will enable us to develop a low-carbon offering for single-family home construction, accelerates our diversification and further strengthens our presence in the eco-responsible construction market."

Brazil: The Brazilian National Cement Industry Association (SNIC) has forecast a drop of 1% year-on-year in cement consumption in Brazil during 2023. This is due to a slowdown in the residential construction sector, which accounts for 70% of national demand. SNIC forecast a 2% year-on-year rise in cement demand in 2024, due to increased infrastructure activity.

Brazil produced 52Mt of cement during the first 10 months of 2023, down by 2.1%. The country produced 61Mt of cement in 2022, corresponding to a capacity utilisation rate of 65%.

Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan: The government of Kazakhstan’s Jambyl Region says that investors have come forward to support construction of a proposed railway between the region and Kyrgyzstan. Central Asia News has reported that a major cement plant construction project is underway in Jambyl Region. Regional governor Yerbol Karashukeyev said that Kyrgyzstan is undergoing a ‘building boom,’ including in the major market of Bishkek, 20km from the border with Jambyl Region.

Karashukeyev said “In view of the rapid development of the market in Kyrgyzstan and the production of large volumes of construction materials in Kazakhstan, it is worth developing cooperation.”