Displaying items by tag: costs

Italy: Buzzi Unicem’s consolidated sales rose by 5.6% year-on-year to US$2.54bn in the first nine months of 2021 from US$2.41bn in the first nine months of 2020. It recorded consolidated cement sales of 23.4Mt, up by 7.5% from 21.7Mt in the corresponding period of 2020. Sales growth in Eastern Europe - especially the Czech Republic and Poland - and the US offset a partial slowdown in Italy, particularly in the third quarter of the year.

The group expects global construction activity to generally remain level into the fourth quarter of 2021. It forecast “favourable” volume and price effects in its full-year results for 2021. It nonetheless noted “growing concern” at rising energy, fuels, logistics, raw materials and services costs in various regions. It forecast group recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) not in excess of 2020 levels.

Germany: HeidelbergCement recorded consolidated sales of Euro14bn in the first nine months of 2021, up by 7% year-on-year from Euro13.1bn in the corresponding period of 2020. Revenues rose in all regions, except for North America, where they fell by 0.1% to Euro3.51bn. The company’s cement sales were 95.7Mt, up by 6% from 90.1Mt, while its ready-mixed concrete sales were 35.7Mm3, up by 4% from 34.4Mm3. Cement sales grew across every region, and recorded the sharpest increase in Western and Southern Europe, of 11% to 23Mt from 20.7Mt.

The group said that ‘significant’ energy cost inflation impacted upon results in the period. It launched a Euro500m cost mitigation programme and initiated the divestment of some Spanish assets and the acquisition of Tanga Cement in Tanzania.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement increased its consolidated sales by 34% year-on-year to US$2.48bn in the first nine months of 2021 from US$1.84bn in the first nine months of 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 45% to US$1.25bn from US$860m.

Group cement volumes were 22.2Mt, up by 15% from 19.2Mt. Nigerian volumes rose by 19% to 14.1Mt from 11.9Mt, while Pan-African volumes rose by 9.4% to 8.16Mt from 7.47Mt.

Chief executive officer Michel Puchercos said “We are pleased to report a solid set of the results for the first nine months of 2021. Given the strong rebound in the third quarter of 2020 following the impact of Covid-19 in the first half of the year, volumes in the third quarter of 2021 were slightly lower year-on-year, as anticipated, though worsened by heavier rains. However, the overall growth trend continues, supported by our ability to meet the strong market demand across all our countries of operation. The economic performance and efficiency initiatives across the group, enabled the offsetting of inflationary pressures on some of our cost lines.” He added “Dangote Cement has exceeded its 2020 full-year results in the first nine months of 2021, with year-on-year EBITDA growth trending at 45%, more than double its 21% growth in the first nine months of 2020. Despite operating in a complex, challenging, and fast-moving environment, Dangote Cement is consistently delivering superior profitability and returns to the shareholders.”

Nigeria: BUA Cement’s nine-month consolidated sales were US$453m in 2021, up by 20% year-on-year from US$379m in the first nine months of 2020. The group’s net profit was US$160m, up by 23% from US$130m. The Daily Independent newspaper has reported that increased costs restricted profit growth in the third quarter of 2021. Administrative expenses rose by 51% year-on-year during the quarter.

Saudi Arabia: Najran Cement’s sales in the nine-month period which ended on 30 September 2021 were US$117m, up by 1.2% year-on-year from US$116m in the corresponding period of 2020. The company increased its nine-month net profit by 7.5% to US$34.5m from US$32.1m. It said that its cost of sales per tonne and finance expenses both declined.

Mexico: Cemex’s consolidated sales in the first nine months of 2021 were US$11bn, up by 5% year-on-year from US$9.4bn in the corresponding period of 2020. Its cement sales rose by 10% to 51.1Mt from 46.2Mt, while its ready-mix concrete volumes increased by 7% to 36.8Mm3 from 34Mm3. Its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled US$2.24bn, up by 24% from US$1.81bn. Its gross profit was US$3.63bn, up by 18% from US$3.07bn. During the period, the group reduced its debt by 33% to US$8.98bn from US$13.3bn.

Cement volumes grew in all regions in every quarter of the year except the third, when they fell by 3% in Mexico and remained level year-on-year in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The quarter brought an end to five consecutive quarters of double-digit year-on-year growth in bagged cement sales in Mexico. Mexican bulk cement sales meanwhile ‘accelerated in line with the formal sector recovery.’ The sharpest nine-month cement volumes growth was in South, Central America and the Caribbean, where sales rose by 19% year-on-year, followed by Mexico, with a rise of 12%.

CEO Fernando González said “We are pleased to report strong top-line growth, reflecting continued growth in demand for our products, coupled with an acceleration in pricing momentum. We are confident that our pricing strategy will more than compensate for the sudden runup in input cost inflation we have experienced.” He added “We remain optimistic regarding outlook, as most of our markets are operating at high capacity utilisation and sustainable midcycle levels that will be supported by monetary and fiscal stimulus, while others are just beginning an upcycle. Regarding our Future in Action initiative, we continue to advance on our climate action goals. During the quarter, we received validation from SBTi of our 2030 decarbonisation roadmap and joined the Race to Zero initiative. Our climate action agenda is a fundamental element of our medium-term strategy not only because it creates value for stakeholders, but because it is the right thing to do for future generations.”

India: Dalmia Bharat’s consolidated cement sales in the first half of the 2022 financial year were 5.1Mt, up by 6.2% year-on-year from 4.8Mt in the first half of the 2021 financial year. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 1.6% to US$178m from US$176m. The company recorded a net profit of US$67.1m during the period, up by 19% from US$56.3m. During the second quarter of the year, which ended on 30 September 2021, Dalmia Bharat commissioned a second line at its Cuttack, Odisha, cement plant and began trial production at its newly acquired Murli cement plant in Maharashtra.

The Orissa Diary newspaper has reported that managing director Puneet Dalmia said "We are pleased with our performance during the quarter. In spite of unprecedented costs related headwinds across all regions, our razor sharp focus on operational efficiencies and execution has helped us contain our costs and deliver an industry-leading performance. We have made considerable progress on our immediate priorities, including expanding our capacity, driving organisational transformation, reinforcing our brand and redefining our corporate governance framework. Looking ahead, we remain focused on further strengthening our momentum to drive sustainable and profitable growth and generate top-tier returns for our stakeholders.” He continued “As India's economy continues to rebound from the lows of last year, we expect the demand and pricing environment for the sector to improve for the rest of the 2022 financial year."

UK: The Clean Growth Fund has led a Euro1.19m investment in cement industry decarbonisation software developer Carbon Re. Other investors are Blue Impact Ventures, Cambridge Enterprise Fund and UCL Technology Fund. The supplier says that its deep reinforcement learning AI product can reduce cement plants’ operating costs by Euro1.97 – 5.09/yr and eliminate 20% of Scope 1 emissions. Five pilot installations of its Delta Zero platform are installed at cement plants in the EU, India, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

CEO Sherif Elsayed-Ali said “Our mission is to reduce global emissions at the gigatonne scale, starting with the cement industry, and to become the leading global AI company to deliver industrial decarbonisation. Carbon Re’s AI technology provides heavy industry with an effective solution to address their critical challenges of energy costs and emissions reduction.” He added “The road to a zero-carbon world will be long, but with the support of the Clean Growth Fund and our other investors, our AI-products and solutions will evolve to accelerate the transition of energy intensive industries.”

Japan: Ube Industries has revised its profit forecast downwards for the 2022 financial year. It now expects a net profit of US$171m in the year to March 2022, a 15% fall year-on-year, compared to its previous forecast of US$184m. It has also forecast full-year consolidated sales of US$5.57bn, a rise of 3.4% year-on-year. The Nikkei newspaper has reported that the group attributed the lower figure for profit to increased costs of cement production, transport and its on-going integration of its cement businesses.

Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas has warned the increased operating costs may force it to suspend production at its 2.8Mt/yr El Alto cement plant in Morata de Tajuña near Madrid. EuroNews has reported that energy prices more than doubled month-on-month to Euro300/MWhr on 21 October 2021 from Euro100/MWhr on 21 November 2021. Grinding operations use half of the plant’s electricity consumption.

Operations director Luis Herrers said "Because the cost of electricity has shot up by 300%, we have crossed a red line. Our production cost has exceeded our selling price.” He added “We are in a critical situation right now."