Global Cement News

Italy: Cementir’s sales rose by 25% year-on-year to Euro1.29bn in 2017 from Euro1.03bn in 2016. The results benefited from Cementir’s acquisition of CCB Group and Cementir Sacci in 2016. Cementir subsequently agreed to sell Cementir Italia, including Cementir Sacci, to HeidelbergCement in late 2017.

Cementir’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 11.5% to Euro221m from Euro198m. Its total cement sales volumes rose by 26.6% to 12.8Mt from 10.1Mt. Sales volume increases were attributed to a change in the scope of consolidation in Belgium and Italy and ‘good’ performance in Denmark, Turkey, Egypt and Malaysia.

The Italian cement producer also announced with its financial results that it will expand its presence in the US by acquiring an additional 38.75% stake of Lehigh White Cement Company from HeidelbergCement, giving it a majority of 63%.

India: The board of Mangalam Cement has approved plants to build a 11MW waste heat recovery unit at its Morak plant in Rajasthan. The subsidiary of BK Birla Group operates a single integrated plant.

Saudi Arabia: Najran Cement says that the financial impact of temporarily stopping its third production line and reopening its second production line will be around US$3m. The cement producer intends to sell stock from inventory to mitigate the cost.

Saudi Arabia: Al Jouf Cement has renewed its export licence for one year. The Saudi cement producer received the licence on 15 February 2018, according to Mubasher. The licence will end in February 2019 and any financial impact will be announced subsequently.

Saudi Arabia: Hail Cement has renewed its three-year asset management agreement with Finland’s Wärtsilä for the power plant at its Turbah plant. Wärtsilä provides guarantees for the performance of the power plant and ensures the reliability and availability of its operations. The operations of the power plant are remotely monitored from a Wärtsilä Expertise Centre for real-time data gathering and analysis. The agreement, signed in November 2017, is already the second renewal of Wärtsilä’s service agreement for the power plant in Turbah, the first agreement being signed in 2012.

“Wärtsilä has been responsible for the full operation and maintenance of our power plant in Turbah for about six years now. We have been satisfied with its flexibility, quality of service and emphasis on safety, and are happy to continue our co-operation with them,” said Matar Al Zahrani, chief executive officer (CEO) of Hail Cement.

The agreement covers the operation and maintenance of Hail Cement Factory’s power plant, including the day-to-day operation of the power plant, preventive and predictive maintenance as well as plant operations manpower, health and safety management. The 53MW base load power plant is equipped with seven Wärtsilä 32 engines and provides energy for Hail Cement Company’s cement factory as well as for the nearby residential area.