Displaying items by tag: costs

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."

India: HeidelbergCement India’s results in the second quarter of the 2022 financial year showed an 11% year-on-year rise in sales to US$76.1m from US$68.5m in the corresponding quarter of the 2021 financial year. Dion News Service has reported that the company’s net profit for the quarter was US$7.96m, down by 4.6% from US$8.34m. Its operating costs were US$61.5m, up by 19% from US$51.8m.

Pakistan: The government of the Punjab will charge cement producers in the state up to US$0.93/m³ for ground water used in their cement production. The Dawn newspaper has reported that the charge will depend on water availability, and be US$0.6/m³ in water secure areas, US$0.85/m³ in semi-critical areas and US$0.93/m³ in critical areas most affected by drought. The measure aims to encourage rainwater harvesting in order to preserve water tables. The charges will fall upon Maple Leaf Cement, Gharibwal Cement, Dandot Cement, Flying Cement, Askari Cement and Fauji Cement. They will remain in force until the establishment of a Punjab Water Services Regulatory Authority and its enactment of water extraction rates.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement says that the cost of producing its cement has increased throughout 2021. The company said the coal prices have risen due to increased coal demand in China and a reduction in exports from coal-producing countries. It anticipates further rises in the price of coal. Additionally, it foresees a rise in maintenance costs as the equipment at its plants nears the end of its service life. The producer says that it is endeavouring to improve productivity and reduce costs.

Spain/Norway: A team from Cartagen Polytechnic and Ostfold University College has demonstrated that Cementos La Cruz could reduce the cost of its concrete production by Euro1.45/m3, or Euro29,000/month by curing concrete with captured CO₂. EuropaPress has reported that the use of CO₂ would reduce the amount of cement required by 7 – 8%. This in turn would remove an estimated 4.6% of CO₂ from the concrete’s production.