Displaying items by tag: construction

Oman: Cement producers have reacted positively to anti-dumping measures implemented by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Oman Observer newspaper has reported that the measures, which consist of quality screening, have, since coming into force on 1 March 2020, been ramped up in construction, with a general restriction of the movement of goods due to the coronavirus. Raysut Cement said, “These measures will enable Raysut Cement and our peers Oman Cement to operate at full capacity. We hope that the authorities will continue to strictly enforce this measure in the interest of fair market competition.”

Raysut Cement said that it is ‘Aggressively pushing ahead’ with its US$30m Port of Duqm grinding plant project, which is due for commission in March 2021. “It is a good time for countries like Oman to become self-sufficient in the domestic availability of a strategic commodity like cement,” it said. On 4 May 2020 Raysut Cement announced plans to lobby the government for a gas or electricity subsidy.

Oman’s cement demand is currently 20-25% below pre-lockdown levels.

France: Cem’In’Eu has announced plans to establish a Euro23.0m grinding plant at Portes-lès-Valence in Drôme department. The La Tribune newspaper has reported that the plant will receive imported clinker produced at Adana Çimento’s 5.2Mt/yr integrated Adana plant in Turkey by river and rail from the port of Sète. Cem’In’Eu president and Vincent Lefebvre said that the location “allows us to be in the middle of a Lyon-Marseille-Montpellier triangle but also to be connected to the Alpine valleys.”

The grinding plant is due for commissioning in mid-July 2021, however the coronavirus has delayed the start of construction.

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has reported sales of Euro5.03bn in the first quarter of 2020, down by 11% year-on-year from Euro5.66bn in the corresponding period of 2019. Cement sales over the period fell by 10% year-on-year to 45.0Mt from 50.0Mt. The group’s earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) was Euro249m, down by 14% from Euro290m.

LafargeHolcim CEO Jan Jenisch said that the results showed the group’s ‘resilience, despite the COVID-19 outbreak in China’ in January 2020. Other markets were disrupted from mid-March. “I am confident that LafargeHolcim will emerge from this pandemic as an important contributor to economic recovery as building activity gets back to normal,” he added.

LafargeHolcim’s coronavirus action plan consists of a Euro380m year-on-year capex reduction, a Euro285m year-on-year fixed cost reduction, realisation of energy price reductions, a review of all third party products and services and a reduction of net working capital in line with the level of activity.

Mexico: Cemex has recorded a consolidated net income of US$47.2m in the first quarter of 2020, down by 13% year-on-year from US$54.1m in the same quarter of 2019. Net sales rose by 6% to US$260m from US$245m. Cemex said, “The world is going through an unprecedented time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction activity across most of our markets is being impacted to varying degrees.”

In 2019 Cemex’s net income was US$179m, down by 69% year-on-year from US$570 in 2018. Net sales were US$13.1bn, down 3.0% from US$13.5bn in 2018.

Mexico: Cemex has implemented more than 50 new safety protocols to minimise the risk of coronavirus spread in its cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates operations. Cemex said that it recognised ‘the importance of the construction industry in supporting the maintenance and service of essential infrastructure required to face the pandemic and contribute to the economy,’ and would resume or continue all possible operations in line with the regulations of the countries in which it operates.

“The health and safety of its employees is the company’s number one priority,” said Cemex. “Among the protocols implemented are the company’s Personal Hygiene Protocol, Physical Distancing Protocol, Screening at Workplace Protocol, Cemex Truck Drivers Protocol, Workplace Cleaning Protocol, and Commuting To and From Work Protocol,” all developed in line with advice from national and international bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO).
Cemex has leveraged its Cemex Go digital platform to limit physical contact and ‘protect employees, customers and suppliers.’

India: Both Germany-based HeidelbergCement and Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech have responded to the government’s partial lifting of the coronavirus lockdown for rurally-located continuous industries by resuming ‘partial operations in some production facilities.’ Orient Cement subsidiary CK Birla said, “We are in the process of partially resuming our operations at our plants in Karnataka and Maharashtra.” Producers require the permission of the relevant state government to restart plants. In Telangana, where the government has not lifted the lockdown, CK Birla’s facilities remain shut.

The Economic Times newspaper has reported that ‘limited transportation facilities, higher than usual inventory and stricter rules regarding labour safety’ have added a note of caution to resumed operations. Shree Cement managing director Hari Mohan Bangur said, given the continuation of restrictions on construction in cities, “We expect just 10% of normal consumption, with hopes of a gradual increase.”

Malaysia: The Cement and Concrete Association of Malaysia (CCA) has praised the government’s decision to grant an exception to cement plants in order to allow production to resume in the third phase of the country’s lockdown, beginning on 28 April 2020. The Straits Times newspaper has reported that the current and previous stages of the lockdown have exacerbated the cement sector’s losses over the past two years.

The CCA said that the development ‘will have a multiplier effect on the economy.’ CCA chair Datuk Yeoh Soo Keng said that 100,000 jobs ‘depend either directly and indirectly on cement production,’ including many ‘in small and medium enterprises’ that will not survive the outbreak without it. “Cement is the fundamental building material of our country’s wealth,” he added. The CCA thanked the government for the ‘welcome reprieve’ and urged it to allow ‘related sectors to slowly and gradually resume operations, for the industry to effectively function.’

Slovenia: Salonit Anhovo suspended production from 20 April 2020 to 4 May 2020. SeeNews has reported the reason for the suspension as a lack of demand from its usual Italian and Slovenian markets amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Salonit Anhovo management board member Dejan Zwitter said, "We expect domestic sales to stabilise as the government is providing incentives for construction activities."

The company will continue to serve its customers with deliveries of it products.

EU: The European Council and European Commission have published their joint coronavirus exit strategy, entitled ‘European Roadmap Towards Lifting COVID-19 Containment Measures.’ It advises EU member states on a course of action aimed at restoring community life and the economy, while also preserving public health, after the coronavirus outbreak.

The roadmap consists of a progressive lifting of travel restrictions, initially between border regions, then between regions less affected by the outbreak and subsequently across internal and external borders of the EU. The strategy applies a similar approach to restarting the economy, beginning with ‘essential sectors’ such as construction. The Commission will maintain a rapid alert system for supply chain disruptions, with the help of existing networks such as the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), Clusters, Chambers of Commerce and trade associations.

Ireland: CRH has said that it had a ‘positive start to the year’ in the first three months of 2020. Total sales over the period rose by 3% year-on-year. In the Americas region, cement volumes rose by 4% and prices by 6%. European cement sales were ‘broadly in line with the same period of 2019’ due to general volume and price increases offset by a fall in volumes in Western Europe.

Government-implemented covid-19 restrictions on construction towards the end of the period impacted sales in Canada, the UK and France. The likely effects on 2020 profit ‘cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.’ CRH chief executive officer (CEO) Albert Manifold said, “With the financial strength of CRH and the experience of our leadership teams, we will endure through these unprecedented and uncertain times.”