Displaying items by tag: growth

Argentina: Loma Negra recorded first-half 2022 sales of US$357m, up by 1.2% year-on-year from US$353m. Its cement sales rose by 13% to 3.15Mt from 2.79Mt in the first half of 2021. The producer more than doubled its net profit to US$45.4m from US$19.3m.

India: Grasim Industries recorded consolidated sales of US$3.52bn in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year, up by 41% from first-quarter sales of US$2.5bn a year previously. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that the group’s cement business contributed a net profit of US$402m, down by 8.8% year-on-year from US$441m.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement’s consolidated sales in its 2022 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2022, were US$1.47bn. This represents an increase of 60% year-on-year from US$920m in the 2021 financial year. The group said that it overcame economic challenges during the year through its successful execution of its diversification strategy and the ‘robust’ performance of all its businesses. Its full-year net profit was US$162m, reportedly in line with its previous year’s performance.

Lucky Cement’s standalone cement sales volumes fell by 8.9% year-on-year to 9.1Mt from 10Mt. Its exports fell by 25% to 1.8Mt from 2.4Mt.

India: Adani Group has secured US$5.25bn-worth of bank loans from Barclays, BNP Paribas and Citigroup for its acquisition of Holcim’s Indian cement businesses ACC and Ambuja Cements. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that the group plans to expand its cement capacity by 43% to 100Mt/yr from 70Mt/yr.

Austria: Refractory producer RHI Magnesita increased its consolidated sales by 33% year-on-year to Euro1.6bn in the first half of 2022 from Euro1.2bn in the first half of 2021. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 37% to Euro245m from Euro 179m. Profit before tax rose by 14% year-on-year to Euro142m from Euro125m.

Looking forward to its full-year 2022 results, RHI Magnesita forecast unchanged earnings, based on ‘strong demand’ in the year to date and its order book for the second half of the year. It said that inflation and monetary policy responses, labour and energy market tightness and on-going supply chain disruption have impacted its global growth outlook. It will rely on price rises to maintain its margins, as well as on strategic cost saving initiatives.

Chief executive officer Stefan Borgas said “In the first half of 2022 we further demonstrated the benefits of prioritising customer deliveries in an environment of continued supply chain volatility. Our investment in inventories to ensure our customers remain supplied with essential refractories has underlined the importance of supply reliability and has enabled us to simultaneously increase prices and gain market share. Following major investments in our production network, a reduction in our selling, general and administrative expenses and progress on our sales strategies, the group is in a strong position to maintain its leadership position in the refractory industry and to navigate future challenges.”

US: Holcim has successfully acquired leading US independent spray foam producer SES Foam. SES Foam has a track record of double-digit growth and expects to record sales revenues of US$200m in 2022, according to Holcim. The group says that the producer stands out for its value-added services to contractors, including onsite technical instruction, business consulting, branding and lead generation support.

Global head of solutions and products Jamie Gentoso said “I warmly welcome all SES employees into the Holcim family. With SES’ leadership in thermal insulation, we are expanding our range of innovative systems for sustainable buildings, from roofing to insulation, to enhance buildings’ energy efficiency. We look forward to entering our next era of growth together.”

US: Eagle Materials offset higher energy and maintenance costs by raising the prices of its products in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year. This contributed to an 18% year-on-year sales rise to US$561m. The group achieved earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$184m during the quarter, up by 13% year-on-year.

President and chief executive officer Michael Haack said "Our results this quarter exceeded our expectations, as our portfolio of businesses performed well, and we executed on the opportunities available to us. Construction activity remained healthy across our markets, and we realised broad pricing gains across our portfolio again this quarter."

The producer’s cement sales rose by 5% year-on-year to US$285m. Haack said "In our heavy materials business, we implemented a second round of cement price increases in early July 2022 given the strong demand environment and our sold-out position. Looking ahead, we expect demand for cement to remain strong, with infrastructure investment increasing as federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act begins in earnest this fiscal year.”

Mexico: GCC increased its sales revenue by 11% year-on-year to US$320m in the second quarter of 2022. Its US cement sales volumes rose by 6%, with a 10% rise in prices, while its Mexico cement volumes fell by 2.3%, with a 12% rise in prices. The group’s cost of sales was US$220m, 69% of total sales, compared to 67% in the second quarter of 2021.

Vietnam: Taiwan-based Chinfon Cement has received clearance to expand its installed cement capacity to 4.2Mt/yr, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Chinfon Cement operates an integrated cement plant in Trang Kenh and a grinding plant in Hiep Phuoc.

India: UltraTech Cement plans to increase its installed cement production capacity to 154Mt/yr by the beginning of the 2026 financial year on 1 April 2025. The increase represents a composite annual growth rate of 10% from 115Mt/yr at the start of the 2023 financial year. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the producer plans to carry out the expansion in two phases.

Indian domestic cement consumption is forecast to continue growing by 5% year-on-year over a five-year period to July 2027.