Displaying items by tag: growth

UK: James Whitelaw will take on the role of managing director in Hanson UK’s newly-established recycling business line. He will be responsible for identifying opportunities to grow organically using the company’s existing capabilities and for integrating new acquisitions.

Whitelaw has held management roles in Hanson UK since 2001 and most recently served as aggregates managing director. Former concrete managing director Brian Charleton will replace him in this role, while Gordon Napier, previously concrete regional director, joins Hanson UK’s executive team as the new concrete managing director.

Ukraine: Cement companies produced 4.75Mt of cement during the first eight months of 2023, up by 30% year-on-year from eight-month 2022 levels. Interfax-Ukraine News has reported that producers are operating at 60% production capacity.

Liudmyla Kripka, executive director of the Ukrainian cement association, Ukrcement, said “If we compare it with last year, when the country’s economy was in shock from Russia’s treacherous attack on Ukraine and the start of the full-scale war, the situation has improved somewhat. Cement production in the first half of 2023 grew by 26%, and in the first eight months by 30%, compared to last year.” Kripka added “We are still far from the indicators of 2021, but the dynamics are encouraging. Once there was a prospect, work for the future began. Cement producers, even in war conditions, are investing in Ukraine and the economic restoration of the regions. This expands the production capacity of the industry as a whole and contributes to the creation of new jobs.”

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies reported revenues of Euro1.68m during the first half of 2023, more than triple those recorded in the first half of 2022 (Euro544,000). The producer’s sales volumes of its clinkerless cement also more than tripled, to 7340t. It says it is on course to achieve its full-year 2023 target of 24,000t. The commissioning of its H2 plant in France raised the company’s installed production capacity by 250,000t.

Co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said "Thanks to the daily work of all our teams, we are accelerating the marketing of our innovative clinker-free cement in a construction market with demand for truly carbon-free solutions. Considering the seasonality of our sales, we intend to intensify the transformation of our order book into sales during the second half of 2023.”

Ghana: The Ghanaian government has ceased to issue permits for new cement plants anywhere in the country. Ghana News Agency has reported that the government enacted the policy in order to ensure the sustainable and responsible growth of Ghana’s cement industry, according to George Dawson-Ahmoah, CEO of the Chamber of Cement Manufacturers, Ghana (COCMAG). Dawson-Ahmoah added that COCMAG is collaborating with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to develop optimal environment, safety and cement quality standards, and to combat unfair trade practices where they arise.

India: JK Cement laid the foundation stone of its upcoming 2.5Mt/yr Prayagraj grinding plant in Uttar Pradesh on 29 August 2023. The plant will cost around US$60m. The company expects to complete the project in the 2025 financial year, which begins on 1 April 2024. This will increase the producer’s grey cement capacity by 11%, to 25Mt/yr. Its ‘medium-term’ capacity goal is a further 20% growth, to 30Mt/yr.

Malaysia: Malayan Cement recorded consolidated sales of US$808m during the 2023 financial year, up by 39% year-on-year from US$583m in the previous financial year. Its net profit was US$34.2m, up by 90% from US$18m. The company partly attributed its sales growth to its incorporation of YTL Cement, which took place in the 2022 financial year on 21 September 2021. It also increased its cement sales volumes and prices.

Looking to the current, 2024 financial year, Malayan Cement said “Non-residential construction activities are expected to benefit from higher investments in manufacturing facilities, given the shift in global supply chains. Nonetheless, the group's optimism is tempered with caution, as inflation and higher interest rates may have a knock-on effect on cement demand.” It added “Our ability to deliver seamless solutions to customers will be optimised, boding well for the positive growth and outlook of the group and the industry going forward.”

US/Colombia: Colombia-based Cementos Argos is carrying out expansions to two cement plants in South Carolina and West Virginia. While not specifically named, these would appear to be the 1.1Mt/yr Harleyville and 1.8Mt/yr Martinsburg cement plants. The producer says that the expansions will increase its cement capacity in the eastern US by 450,000t/yr.

Additionally, Cementos Argos plans to expand the capacity of its Cartagena cement terminal in Colombia by 35% to 4Mt/yr. The producer says that this will serve as a platform for subsequent growth. It is targeting the US market, where an expansion is also underway at its import facility in Houston, Texas. The Cartagena terminal achieved its current capacity following a recent US$42m expansion.

India: Ambuja Cements’ open offer to acquire an additional 26% stake in Sanghi Industries will run from 29 September 2023 to 13 October 2023. Press Trust of India News has reported the value of shares under the offer as up to US$767m. Ambuja Cements concluded a deal to acquire a 57% stake in Sanghi Industries, for the smaller sum of US$603m, on 3 August 2023.

Uzbekistan: Uzbek six-month cement production was 5.7Mt during the first half of 2023, the Agency for Statistics of Uzbekistan has reported. The figure corresponds to growth of 10% year-on-year.

US: Monarch Cement’s consolidated sales were US$122m in the first half of 2023, up by 27% year-on-year from US$95.8m during the first half of 2022. The producer’s retained earnings rose by 15% to US$311m from US$271m.

Throughout the first half of 2023, Monarch Cement recorded cement sales of US$71.7m (23% of total sales), up by 29% from US$55.4m (20% of total sales) in the first half of 2022.