Displaying items by tag: lockdown

China: China Resources Cement (CRC)’s first-half net profit increased by 11% year-on-year to US$541m in 2020 from US$481m in 2019. This was in spite of a 3% fall in revenues to US$2.18bn from US$2.25m. CRC said, “The gradual stabilisation of infrastructure construction and the real-estate market - as well as the steady progress of urbanisation and rural construction - will be conducive to the stable development of the cement industry."

Ireland: CRH recorded a profit of US$406m in the first half of 2020, down from US$602m in the first half of 2019. Sales fell by 4.9% year-on-year to US$12.2bn from US$12.8bn. Price rises in many markets offset the general reduction in cement volumes caused by coronavirus lockdown, while volumes grew in Germany, the Benelux countries, Brazil and the US.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Albert Manifold said, “We took swift and comprehensive action in response to the Covid-19 crisis, and our ability to flex our cost base and deliver improved profitability, margins and cash generation in a rapidly evolving environment demonstrates the strength and resilience of our business. The outlook for the rest of the year and into 2021 remains uncertain and is dependent on an improving health situation across our markets.” Though the group provided no full-year guidance for 2020, it said, “The longer-term prospects for CRH remain positive, benefiting from significant financial strength and resilience together with a portfolio of high-quality assets in attractive markets.”

Mozambique: China-based International Cement Group has confined builders working on the construction of its integrated Salamanga cement plant in Maputo Province to the site of the upcoming plant since March 2020. BBC news has reported that 60 Mozambicans have been living in temporary accommodation without being able to leave the site “in order to prevent possible transmission of coronavirus from workers,” according to the company. The group agreed to permit workers to leave from 23 August 2020 following action by a local lawyer.

China: Tangshan Jidong’s net profit in the first half of 2020 was US$140m, down by 33% year-on-year from US$210m to US$246m. Cement sales fell by 14% to US$1.58bn from US$1.83bn, while clinker sales fell by 11% to US$218m from US$246m. The Hebei Province-based group attributed the sales fall to the effects of the coronavirus lockdown in early 2020.

India: Low demand for power due to the 25 March 2020 – 31 August 2020 nationwide coronavirus lockdown has caused Shree Cement to suspend some of its power plant operations due to a lack of buyers. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that 300MW of Shree Cement’s 650MW power generation capacity produces power for sale to other users on the national grid. Joint managing director Prashant Bangur said, “Owing to the lockdown, power demand was impacted and some of our power capacities were shut. Power demand has not completely recovered yet. Right now, power plants are shut because there is no demand; viability is the second part.”

The first stage of lifting lockdown was announced on 1 June 2020.

India: Aditya Birla subsidiary Grasim Industries recorded a loss of US$36.0m in the first-quarter of the 2021 financial year (1 April 2020 – 30 June 2020), compared to US$26.9m profit in the first quarter of the 2020 financial year. The company attributed this to a 61% year-on-year fall in sales to US$260m from US$668m due to ‘lower realisation and weak demand’ during coronavirus lockdown. Consolidated cement sales over the period were US$228m, down by 29% year-on-year from US$320m.

South Africa: PPC has said that it may issue a rights offer for US$68.7m-worth of shares in order to raise funds to ‘repay and restructure debt locally and in other African markets, and to refinance after the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.’ Pretoria News has reported that PPC has forecasted a 20% year-on-year drop in earnings in the year to 31 March 2020 due to ‘a slump in domestic demand and an influx of cheaper Chinese imports, even prior to lockdown.’

Bangladesh: Cement producers imported US$760,000-worth of raw materials in the 2020 financial year which ended on 30 June 2020, down by 13% year-on-year from US$874,000 in the 2019 financial year. Clinker, calcareous stone, granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and gypsum imports totalled 18.6Mt, down by 11% from 21.0Mt, compared to annual growth of 15 - 20% since 2010.

The Daily Star newspaper has reported that this was due to decreased cement demand, with sales falling to 65,000t in April 2020 from 125,000t in March 2020 on account of the start of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Premier Cement managing director Amirul Islam said, “We are not getting the benefits we expected from the government. The sector’s capital is gradually running out, so all kinds of discretionary tax cuts are needed to save this industry.”

Bangladeshi cement producers import raw materials from Thailand, Vietnam and China.

India: Shree Cement recorded a profit of US$49.6m between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2020, up by 2.1% year-on-year from US$48.6m in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. Sales fell by 23% to US$311m from US$406m due to the impacts of the coronavirus lockdown, which ended during the quarter, on cement demand.

India: Birla Corporation has shared details of its plans for a US$9.68m upgrade to its 1.3Mt/yr Durgapur, West Bengal grinding plant to expand the plant’s capacity to 1.5Mt/yr. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the company is planning to install a 0.2Mt/yr capacity vertical roller mill at the plant in response to “expected robust demand for premium slag-based cement in the eastern region.”

Birla Corporations recorded a profit of US$8.77m in the three months ended 31 June 2020, the first quarter of the Indian fiscal year, down by 53% year-on-year from US$18.8m in the corresponding period of 2019. Sales fell by 35% to US$163m from US$252m due to subdued demand during the coronavirus lockdown.