Displaying items by tag: market

Pakistan: The government plans to raise the rate of federal excise duty for cement plants operating at less than 100% capacity utilisation. The Dawn newspaper has reported that the measure aims to reduce cement prices in the country. Taxes are currently US$8.55/t of cement produced. In the 2021 financial year, capacity utilisation was at 84% of the available 69.3Mt/yr total capacity. Since the 2017 financial year, it has dropped below 75% in some years. Over the five-year period, the national cement capacity has increased at an average of 8.6% annually.

Ministry of Finance spokesperson Muzzammil Aslam said “Who should we protect: consumers or cement makers? Is it not harmful for the country that they have joined hands and set a higher market price?”

India: Sagar Cements says that its subsidiary Jajpur Cements is on track to commission its new 1.5Mt/yr Jajpur grinding plant in Odisha in December 2021. The Hindu BusinessLine newspaper has reported that the company invested US$41m in the plant’s construction. Sagar Cements acquired Jajpur Cements in May 2019 for US$16m. It had previously aimed to complete the new grinding plant’s construction by March 2021.

In October 2021, another Sagar Cements subsidiary, Satguru Cement, commissioned its new US$80.6m 1Mt/yr Indore integrated cement plant in Madhya Pradesh. The completion of both projects will bring Sagar Cements’ total installed capacity to 8.25Mt/yr. the company said that the new facilities will help in its rationalisation of freight expenses and help it to diversify its sales outside of existing markets.

World: The governments of Canada, Germany, India, the UAE and the UK have signed a commitment to support the development of markets for low-carbon cement and concrete in their countries. The governments will create market incentives for purchasers, review and update product standards to allow low-carbon materials to be used in all safe settings and promote their use through their public sector tendering rules.

World Cement Association (WCA) chief executive officer Ian Riley said “I’m delighted to see that governments are heeding our call for urgent action to accelerate decarbonisation of the cement industry around the world, and we look forward to hearing more details from the UK, India, Germany, Canada and UAE on the steps they will take.” He added “This commitment marks a hugely significant shift in mindset that we hope will be followed by other countries in the months ahead. When it comes to hard-to-abate industries like cement, it is vital to work together with governments to create the conditions in which we can get to net zero and beyond, as quickly as possible. We cannot do this alone in time.”

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."

UK: SigmaRoc has announced the ratification of its Greenbloc cement-free concrete block’s environmental credentials with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The EPD is a Type III environmental declaration with ISO 14025, providing full-lifecycle information on the product’s impacts. Greenbloc, an ultra-low carbon alternative to traditional concrete blocks, is the first product of its kind.

Managing Director Michael Roddy said “With the launch of Greenbloc, we believe that we can now offer architects, contractors and housebuilders a competitive, reliable and – thanks to our EPD certification – proven low-carbon alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) blocks. Making the switch from traditional blocks to Greenbloc can reduce the embodied carbon of a typical three-bedroom house by 73%, saving the equivalent of 2.7t of CO₂ per dwelling. It is also worth noting that we have obtained additional third-party test results against the declaration of performance certificate.” He added “The world is changing for the better, and technology is facilitating greater accessibility to materials that can bring about meaningful change for the construction industry. The reception for Greenbloc has already exceeded all expectations, and we are incredibly excited for the potential it has to offer.”

Nigeria: Domestic cement sales totalled US$3.46bn in value in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year-on-year from US$2.66bn in the corresponding period of 2020. The Punch newspaper has reported that market research company Atlas Portfolios Limited attributed the growth to an increase in federal and state governments’ infrastructure spending. The company added that increased homebuilding following the end of the Covid-19 lockdown generated further demand growth.

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.”

US: Martin Marietta Materials has completed its US$2.3bn takeover of Lehigh Hanson’s West Region business. The acquisition enlarges the company’s cement assets by two new plants and related distribution terminals, as well as targeted downstream operations, in California and Arizona.

Chair, president and CEO Ward Nye said "We are pleased to complete the Lehigh West Region acquisition and welcome a talented group of new employees to the Martin Marietta team. These assets serve as a new growth platform for our continued geographic expansion and are uniquely positioned to benefit from favourable market dynamics and accelerating public and private construction activity in California and Arizona.” He added “We are confident in our ability to quickly realise the benefits of this transaction and deliver significant value creation for our shareholders, customers and employees following the same proven approach we took with our acquisitions of TXI and Bluegrass."

France: France-based Saint-Gobain has acquired Chryso from financier Cinven for Euro1.02bn. The Le Moniteur newspaper has reported that the group will operationally integrate Chryso into its high performance solutions division. It said that it intends to develop Chryso in markets already served by Saint-Gobain, and to accelerate cross-selling between Weber and Chryso.

CEO Benoit Bazin said "Chryso strengthens us significantly in the growing construction chemicals market, in which we have made 10 acquisitions and opened 16 plants in 18 countries over the past three years to now exceed more than Euro3bn in turnover in 66 countries.”

India: SCG International Corporation has agreed to provide marketing services for BigBloc Construction’s autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) panels and other building products. United News of India has reported that BigBloc Construction expects to benefit from the partnership through the creation of a business development foundation for its AAC panels. SCG International Corporation is a subsidiary of Thailand-based cement producer Siam Cement Group (SCG).

Chair Narayan Saboo said "We are absolutely elated to announce our inaugural joint collaboration with SCG with the purpose of entering newer markets and expanding ourselves with our diversified product lines. We are the leading manufacturer of AAC blocks in India, and AAC panels are a new age building material which will further enhance speed and quality of construction.” He added “We are fully capable to cater to more demand and hence we look forward to scaling up by further promoting our product basket. SCG is without a doubt the best partner for the purpose since it is one of the largest cement and building material companies in Thailand and Southeast Asia. We look forward to the success of this wonderful opportunity which is mutually beneficial for both of our businesses."