Displaying items by tag: market

Pakistan: Fauji Cement sold 4.9Mt of cement during Pakistan’s 2023 financial year (FY2023), which ended on 30 June 2023. This generated revenues of US$244m, up by 25% year-on-year from US$194m in FY2022. The producer’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 29% to US$72.3m from US$56.2m.

Managing director and CEO Qamar Haris Manzoor said “The transformation journey which started in 2020 on capacity enhancement, cost reduction initiatives and increasing captive green energy has now started to pay dividends, despite unpreceded economic challenges.” He continued “FY2023 has been challenging for businesses due to all-time high inflation and interest rates, which saw a drop in consumer demand, negatively affecting the industry. The cement industry saw a demand decline of 16% as construction activities decreased in both the northern and southern regions of the country. Despite the tough environment, Fauji Cement remained committed to its growth strategy, and successfully commissioned its 6500t/day expansion project at its Nizampur site.”

Asia/Middle East: South Korea-based Samsung Engineering and Canada-based Svante have signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU). Under the MoU, the companies will collaborate on the development and deployment of carbon capture technology in cement and other industries in Asia and the Middle East.

Svante President and CEO Claude Letourneau said “Samsung Engineering’s more than 50 years of experience in the energy and industrial sectors will be invaluable as we continue to rapidly expand our operations and filter production capabilities.”

Pakistan: Cement producers increased their sales volumes by 23% year-on-year during the first quarter of the 2024 financial year, which began on 1 July 2023. They recorded despatches of 11.9Mt during the quarter, compared to 9.62Mt during the first quarter of the previous financial year. The Express Tribune newspaper has reported that exports grew by 72% year-on-year to 1.75Mt from 1.02Mt.

Central Europe: Austria-based RHI Magnesita has acquired P-D Refractories from Germany-based Preiss-Daimler Group for Euro45m. P-D Refractories produces refractories in the Czech Republic and Germany, and operates other sites in the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

RHI-Magnesita’s CEO Stefan Borgas said “The production capabilities and vertical integration of P-D Refractories, combined with RHI Magnesita’s know-how and renowned research and development capabilities, will complement our product portfolio and enlarge our production footprint and sales channels on a global scale. This acquisition is our sixth transaction to close in the year to date and marks a major milestone for both companies in the process industries sector. Together we look forward to expanding our footprint and strengthening our market presence by offering high-grade refractory products and solutions to an enlarged customer base.”

Colombia: Data from DANE, the Colombian national statistics authority, shows that the country produced 1.22Mt of grey cement in July 2023, a 1.7% increase compared to July 2022. Of this, 1.05Mt was consumed domestically, a 6.5% fall year-on-year, with exports increasing to compensate. The July 2023 production figure is 9.2% higher than for the July 2019, the year before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. DANE also recorded that Colombia produced 557,900m3 of ready-mix concrete in July 2023, a 3.1% decline compared to July 2022, when 575,800m3 was produced.

Spain: Cement consumption in Catalonia fell by 11% in August 2023, while production fell by 2.7%, and exports by 32.7%, according to regional cement association Ciment Català. During the 12 months, to 31 August 2023 consumption decreased by 2.9% to 2.24Mt, while production fell by 4.4% to 3.15Mt and exports fell by 3.7% to 1.74Mt. Ciment Català’s president, Salvador Fernández, attributed these declines to the poor economic situation in the autonomous region, a lack of investment and ‘the challenges of the decarbonisation process,’ according to Europa Press.

India: Ratings agency Crisil has forecast all-Indian cement consumption growth of 11% year-on-year to 440Mt during the current financial year, which ends on 31 March 2024. Crisil attributed this to a 51% year-on-year rise in infrastructure spending, to US$6.75bn throughout the year. Press Trust of India News has reported that infrastructure projects currently account for 30% of all cement consumption.

South Korea/Egypt: The South Korean government plans to implement a 72% import duty on white cement from Egypt. Yonhap News has reported that the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) recommended the duty as an anti-dumping measure, following its investigation into the impacts of Egyptian imports on the South Korean white cement industry. This consists of Union Corporation’s 200,000t/yr Chongju white cement plant in North Chungcheong.

South Korea consumed 100,000t of white cement in 2022. Egyptian white cement commanded a 10% (10,000t) market share. The domestic cement industry complained to the KTC against Royal El Minya Cement and Albatros International Cement Trading in March 2023. An additional probe will now follow to assess the correct rate for the duty.

Peru: The Central Reserve Bank of Peru expects national cement consumption to fall by 3.7% in 2023. The Gestión newspaper has reported that demand declined month-on-month over seven successive months up to August 2023. It fell by a double-digit figure year-on-year in the first half of 2023. In August 2023, imports of cement declined by 95% month-on-month, to 2000t from 38,000t.

Peruvian Chamber of Construction executive director Guido Valdivia said "The first factor to consider is El Niño. If it starts in November 2023, it will affect construction output in 2023; if it is postponed to 2024, we expect a drop of only 3.3% in 2023.″ The Peruvian Property Developers’ Association (ASEI) forecast a 4% drop in construction output in 2023, followed by growth of 3.2% in 2024.

Grupo Gloria’s vice president, cement, concrete and lime, Luis Díaz told investors that the gap between Peruvian cement production and consumption will close ‘substantially’ during the remaining months of 2023, due to raised demand from infrastructure projects.

The core of the Caribbean cement industry consists of the Dominican Republic (with 5.9Mt/yr in integrated capacity), Cuba (4.7Mt/yr) and Jamaica (3.5Mt/yr). Haiti and Trinidad & Tobago also command small, single integrated plants, while there are numerous grinding plants and cement terminals along the region’s extensive coastlines. The industry has been the subject of new commercial and capital expenditure-related announcements in the past fortnight. Regarding the Caribbean’s cement producers, these developments seem to lack a single clear direction.

Caribbean market leader Cemex revealed that it was considering selling up in the region’s largest market, the Dominican Republic, on 1 September 2023. Bloomberg cited unnamed sources stating that the Mexico-based cement giant hired financial services JPMorgan Chase to explore the possible divestment of local subsidiary Cemex Dominicana. Exactly one year had passed since Cemex completed its sale of Cemex Costa Rica and Cemex El Salvador to Guatemala-based Cementos Progreso for US$329m. Sources clued in on the latest development reportedly expect Cemex Dominicana to command a selling price three times greater than the Central American divestments combined.

Cemex has discussed its scattered disposal of global assets since 2019 as a strategic realignment towards its main markets, in particular those in North America and Europe. On this understanding, the Caribbean straddles an invisible line between Cemex’s strategic core in North America and Central America on its periphery.

Just to the north of the line lies Jamaica. There, Cemex subsidiary Caribbean Cement will expand its Rockfort cement plant by 30% to 1.3Mt/yr through a US$40m upgrade, scheduled for completion in early 2025. Late last week, Caribbean Cement told investors that the upgrade will equip the plant with new equipment, including a new dosing system. The producer expects this to help the Rockfort plant to further increase its alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate. It co-processed 5.6% AF in its kiln during the first half of 2023, more than double its first-half 2022 substitution rate of 2.7%. Caribbean Cement began exporting cement to Turks and Caicos on 16 September 2023, and plans to increase its shipments there and elsewhere. Managing director Yago Castro reassured Jamaicans that Caribbean Cement would also continue to help meet domestic demand.

Currently, Caribbean Cement and fellow Jamaican producer Cement Jamaica compete in the domestic market against imports, including some cement from Dominican Republic-based Domicem. This enters the country via Buying House Cement’s Montego Bay terminal. Montego Bay Cold Storage, an affiliate of Buying House Cement, shared plans for a second, US$8m cement terminal in the city earlier in 2023. The facility is expected to help meet growing demand from residential and hospitality sector construction.

More new production capacity is soon to come online in the form of a 1.23Mt/yr grinding plant in the Dominican Republic. Cemento PANAM will own and operate the plant, while Germany-based Gebr. Pfeiffer will supply a 3750 C-4 vertical roller mill via engineering, procurement and construction contractor CBMI Construction.

In a market where the nearest cement exporter is only a short sail over the horizon, producers have to compete fiercely for their market shares, even at home. Disputes over Caribbean Community member states’ rights to protect domestic cement production have gone as high as the Caribbean Court of Justice. It ended Barbados-based Rock Hard Cement’s hopes of resuming exports to Trinidad & Tobago last year.

The Caribbean’s cement producers will be acutely aware of Cementos Argos’ planned expansion of its north-facing Cartagena, Colombia, cement export facility, hot on the heels of a previous, US$42m expansion. The South American giant says that it is targeting the US, where it anticipates an upcoming construction boom. Caribbean countries present other possible markets for producers like Cementos Argos, yet their cement industries might equally emulate any successes it enjoys in the US. Like Argos in Colombia, Jamaica’s Caribbean Cement is part of a group with an existing presence in the US. Its on-going investments in the Rockfort plant signal a readiness to catch the trade winds rapidly picking up in the Caribbean.