Displaying items by tag: economy

Tanzania: Tanga Cement has advised investors that it expects a ‘significant improvement’ in its results to a profit before tax in 2021, compared to a loss in 2020. The Daily News newspaper has reported that strong sales during the year contributed to the forecast result, along with a drop in finance costs due to a restructuring of debt facilities.

Tanga Cement said “The improved performance is a result of Tanga Cement’s initiative to optimise the sales, logistics and distribution, as well as its continued cost optimisation initiative.” It added “The company has been able to achieve this despite the challenging global economic and operating environment conditions.”

Pakistan: Maple Leaf Cement’s first-half standalone sales were US$121m in the 2022 financial year, down by 33% year-on-year from a first-half 2021 financial year figure of US$91.5m. Export sales fell by 46% to US$2.63m, 2.5% of total sales. Its main export markets were Afghanistan, the Seychelles, Oman and Tanzania. The company reported a 70% increase in its consolidated net profit to US$15.2m from US$8.97m in the first half of the 2021 financial year. The producer said that it expects the domestic cement market to remain ‘stagnant’ for numerous reasons, including high inflation, increased interest rates and decelerating implementation of projects under the Public Sector Development Programme.

Venezuela: Corporacion Socialista del Cemento plans to begin to export cement to countries in the Caribbean from the beginning of 2022. The El Universal newspaper has reported that the company’s plant is in the process of increasing its production of cement and clinker for the start of exports. In the first 10 months of 2021, it more than doubled its production and more than tripled its sales volumes.

President Pietro Acosta said "We are contributing to the growth of a new free, non-oil, diversified economy.” He added “We will still continue to serve the national market."

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."

India: The Telangana government says that it has failed to persuade the Indian government to reopen the mothballed Cement Corporation of India Adilabad cement plant. The Press Trust of India newspaper has reported that this is despite an offer by the state’s government to contribute to costs.

IT and Industries Minister Ramon Rao said that the Telangana government aims to create 50,000 new jobs and claimed that the state is the fourth largest contributor to India’s economy.

Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has received a request from the Pakistan government to lower cement prices. The International News newspaper has reported that Finance and Revenue Minister Shaukat Tarin spoke with APCMA representatives about trends in cement pricing in the three years prior to August 2021 and the importance of cement in stimulating economic growth. Tarin encouraged the establishment of a consultative session between the association and relevant stakeholders, with the task of proposing a sustainable pricing mechanism.

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.

Australia/New Zealand/US: Ireland-based James Hardie has announced the planned closure of three of its fibre cement board plants. The Cooroy, Queensland plant in Australia, Summerville, South Carolina plant in the US and Penrose, Auckland plant in New Zealand will close permanently in mid-2020, resulting in a total of 375 job cuts. The NZ Herald newspaper has reported that the decision to shut the plants came about due to the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economic situation. James Hardie will now supply the New Zealand market from its Carole Park, Queensland and Rosehill, New South Wales plants. James Hardie also closed its Siglingen, Baden-Württemberg plant in Germany on a temporary basis, ‘in order to better match supply and demand in the European market.’

James Hardie revised its 2020 profit forecast to US$355m, down by 4.1% from US$370m.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) recorded a profit of US$215m in the first three months of 2020, down by 40% year-on-year from US$358m in the corresponding period of 2019. Sales were US$3.23bn, down by 6.0% from US$3.44bn.

On 30 April 2020 SCG withdrew its sales forecast for 2020 and reduced its budget for the year to US$1.85bn, down by 14% from US$2.15bn. SCG president and CEO Roongrote Rangsiyopash said, “SCG cannot give a figure for revenue this year because we don't know yet how long the COVID-19 outbreak will last and how much it will affect the economy.” Rangsiyopash said that SCG is ‘prepared to cut its investment even more’ in a worst-case scenario.

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.’