Displaying items by tag: costs

India: JK Lakshmi Cement recorded revenues of US$159m in the third quarter of its 2022 financial year, consistent with third-quarter levels in the 2021 financial year. Despite this, the company’s net profit declined by 42% year-on-year to US$7.91m from US$13.7m. Its operating costs grew by 4.6% to US$140m during the quarter.

Denmark: FLSmidth’s 2021 full-year sales were US$2.66bn, up by 6.8% year-on-year from US$2.99bn in 2020. The group had previously forecast sales of US$2.42 – 2.57bn in its guidance for the year. Its EBITA margin was 5.9%, in the upper end of the company’s guidance of 5 – 6%. The company said that the result included costs of acquiring Thyssenkrupp’s mining business.

Turkey: OYAK Cement says that it eliminated 200,000t of CO₂ emissions during 2021 through its use of US-based DataRobot’s AI software. The producer said that the technology enabled it to multiply its alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate by seven an reduce its mechanical failure prediction time by 75%. It added that the software contributed to a US$39m/yr drop in costs.

Europe: A forthcoming report by consultancy CemBR has forecast that the European cement industry could potentially face carbon related costs of over Euro1.5bn in 2022 if production continues at 2020 levels or earlier. It looks at the performance of the European cement sector and the impact of the Phase IV of the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme ( ETS), which started in January 2021. Other key findings include that the sector reduced its carbon emissions per tonne of clinker by a 0.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to the end of Phase III of the scheme.

The commercial market report has analysed the performance of each individual clinker producing plant in the scheme (including the UK) and has compared the end of Phase III with the beginning of Phase IV. It has also detailed the level of free allowances for part one of Phase IV and undertaken several analytical scenarios. Part one, running from 2021 to 2025, of Phase IV allowances for the whole scheme are around 16% lower than the 2020 level. Allowances have remained unchanged for this period but further ‘significant’ reductions are expected for part two of Phase IV. CemBR also reports that not all member countries are in the same position with regard to Phase IV with some countries exposed to more risk. In addition, there is a wide range of vulnerability with regards to carbon among the 201 operational clinker producing plants even within the same market.

The ‘EU ETS & Cement - Enter the Phase IV’ report is due to be published in February 2022.

China: Saudi Aramco and China Building Materials Academy (CBMA) have launched the Nonmetallic Excellence and Innovation Center (NEXCEL) in Beijing. The centre will leverage CBMA's expertise and resources to promote the development and application of nonmetallic technologies offering superior lifecycle cost, efficiency and environmental performance to metal-based alternatives in Chinese construction.

Saudi Aramco’s senior vice president of technical services Ahmad Al-Sa'adi said “We are excited to be part of this important initiative with CBMA, to jointly advance the use of nonmetallics in building and construction in China. At Aramco, we have been developing and deploying nonmetallic solutions within our own operations for more than 20 years as they offer superior lifecycle cost, efficiency and environmental advantages over their metal alternatives.”

Mexico: 200 police officers in 80 police cars arrived outside the gates of Cooperativa La Cruz Azul’s Cruz Azul cement plant in Tula, Hidalgo, on 15 December 2021, but failed to enter the plant. The El Financiero newspaper has reported that the police were following a court order to remove the company from the plant. Supervisory board president Alberto Lopez reasserted the company’s right to occupy the property in line with federal government ordinances. Lopez suggested an alleged collusion between cooperativists and Omar Fayad’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Hidalgo state government to decieve the courts.

Authorities have frozen Cooperativa La Cruz Azul’s accounts with outstanding bills of US$800,000 in electricity, gas, equipment and services bills, as well as the payroll of its 1100 workers.

Coopertiva La Cruz Azul chair Federico Sarabia said that the developments threaten the existence of the Cruz Azul plant. He said "In terms of quality, Cruz Azul’s cement exceeds the standard. At the time that Cruz Azul disappears as a cement producer, prices will increase.”

Mexico/Denmark: Cemex and 3D printing construction company Cobod International have launched D.fab, a range of admixtures which enable builders to use ordinary concrete in 3D printing. The partners say that the products eliminate the need for expensive specialised mortars. Power2Build implemented the admixtures in concrete to print a whole house in Luanda, Angola, in early December 2021.

Cemex’s executive vice president sustainability, commercial and operations development Juan Romero said “The introduction of this revolutionary 3D printing system is a testament to our customer-centric mindset and relentless focus on continuous innovation and improvement. Working together with Cobod, we have developed an experience for customers that is superior to anything that has been provided in the past,” said “Our innovation efforts position us at the forefront of new technologies that contribute to building a better future.”

Europe: Cembureau, the European cement association, has calculated that if the European Union (UN) emissions trading scheme (ETS) CO₂ cost reaches Euro90/t then this could represent 12 - 15% of the production costs of cement producers. The association made its calculation for an average cement plant in the region using data from Ecorys, WIFO, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research for the EU Commission and Agora Energiewende.

Cembureau has called for the EU government to delay its proposed ETS free allocation phase-out and to bring forward the implementation of its proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) from 2026. It has called on policy makers to ‘use all the tools available to stabilise market prices, support energy intensive industries through state aid and examine the functioning of the European gas and electricity markets, as well as the EU ETS.’

India: Finance company ICRA reported all-India cement sales in the first half of the 2022 financial year of 124Mt, up by 22% year-on-year. Mint News has reported that the total value of cement sales rose by 5% in the period compared to the first half of the 2021 financial year. Producers’ raw materials costs rose by 16%, while power, coal and petcoke costs rose by 26% and freight costs rose by 7%. Granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and gypsum prices also rose.

ICRA corporate ratings assistant vice president and sector head Anupama Reddy said "Despite some easing in the cost-side pressures, the input costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term, and are expected to exert pressure on operating margins, which are likely to decline by 200 to 230 basis points (BPS) in the 2022 financial year as a whole. While the capacity additions are expected to increase year-on-year in the 2022 financial year, the reliance on debt is likely to be lower owing to the healthy cash generation and strong liquidity of the cement companies. The debt coverage metrics are expected to remain strong in the 2022 financial year."

India: Ratings agency Crisil has forecast 11 – 13% year-on-year growth of cement sales volumes in the 2021 financial year. The Press Trust of India has reported that the agency predicted that high demand and increased fuel costs would precipitate a rise in cement prices to record levels before April 2022.

In December 2021, petcoke prices rose by 80% year-on-year, while the price of imported coal had more than doubled. This has increased cement producers’ costs by 40%.