Global Cement News

Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has expressed its concern over a ‘sharp’ rise in coal and fuel prices have increased the production cost of cement. Sources quoted by the association have blamed the implementation of supply side measures in China to limit its coal mining capacity, according to the Nation newspaper. A recent surge in coal prices has also followed stricter local rules on coal transportation. The association has called on the government to avoid ‘disruptive policies’ that impact construction growth.

Saudi Arabia: Najran Cement made a loss of US$5.8m in 2017 from a net profit of US$33.5m in 2016. It blamed the loss on lower prices, reduced sales volumes due to lower demand for cement and greater competition and higher production costs. Its sales revenue fell by 39% year-on-year to US$115m from US$189m.

UK: Strike plans by truck drivers working for Hanson Cement have been cancelled following a revised pay offer. The planned industrial action scheduled for 26 – 27 February 2018 was expected to negatively effect deliveries from the Padeswood cement plant, according to the Daily Post newspaper. The Unite union said that its members at eight depots across the UK had voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to accept an improved two-year pay deal.

About 240 workers have accepted the overall package that will mean an increase of 3.7% from 1 January 2018 and for 2019, an increase that could range from 3.4 - 4.4%. The union members of Hanson subsidiary Castle Cement are based at eight depots in the UK at Avonmouth, Bellshill in North Lanarkshire, Birmingham, Clitheroe in Lancashire, Kings Cross in London, Middlesbrough, Mold and Stamford in Lincolnshire. The company delivers bulk and ready-packed cement to customers across the UK.

HeidelbergCement made Italy’s Cementir Holding its Valentine last week in the form of a deal for the Italian company to buy up the remaining shares in Lehigh White Cement in the US. Cementir takes control of the former joint venture by upping its share to 63.25% for US$107m and one of the other partners, Cemex, increases its share to 36.75% for US$34m. Despite making the announcement on Valentine’s Day HeidelbergCement then described the sale in fairly unromantic language, “As a niche product with small volumes, the standalone production of white cement does not fit to the strategic focus on efficiency of HeidelbergCement.” Maybe they could just send flowers to each other next year instead!

More seriously, this latest deal by Cementir is yet another intriguing evolution of the Italian multinational building materials producer. The company says it is the largest white cement producer in the world through subsidiaries like Aalborg Portland in Demark, Sinai White Cement in Egypt and Lehigh White Cement in the US. Its plant at El-Arish in Egypt is the largest white cement unit in the world. In 2016 it reported a white cement production capacity of 3.3Mt/yr from six plants in Denmark, Egypt, China, Malaysia and the US. Its volume sales of white cement were 2.2Mt at this time or a capacity utilisation rate of 67%. In the US it operates two white cement plants located in Waco, Texas and York, Pennsylvania with a total capacity of 0.26Mt/yr, as well as a distribution network throughout the country, which is also used to distribute white cement imported from its partners across North America. In 2017 Cementir produced 10.3Mt of Ordinary Portland (grey) Cement and white cement, a rise of 24.6% year-on-year from 8.25Mt in 2016. The boost was delivered by the acquisition of Compagnie des Ciments Belges. Like-for-like sales volumes increased by around 1.7% year-on-year.

Cementir left the Italian market in 2017 when it sold Cementir Italia to HeidelbergCement for Euro315m. As this column commented as the time (GCW320) the deal seemed cheap given that HeidelbergCement paid Euro315m for five integrated cement plants plus extras. However, Cementir appeared to actually make a profit on Sacci which it picked up cheaply in 2016.

Now HeidelbergCement has returned the favour by selling Cementir the controlling stake in Lehigh White Cement. The German cement producer may have grumpily rubbished the sale in its press release but the language makes one wonder whether this was a quiet part of the Cementir Italia deal in 2017. The white cement industry is miniscule compared to the OPC one but HeidelbergCement has just handed even more control of it to Cementir. From Cementir’s perspective this probably seems very efficient.

South Africa: PPC has announced that its interim chief executive Johan Claassen as chief executive and executive director of the group, effective 15 February 2018. He had been appointed as interim chief executive in July 2017 following the sudden resignation of Darryl Castle.

PPC chairperson Peter Nelson said that, since his appointment as interim chief executive, Claassen had overseen a number of important milestones. He said Claassen had also demonstrated that he had the right skills to lead effectively. PPC also confirmed Njombo Lekula as managing director of the group’s South African cement activities and Mokate Ramafoko as managing director for the rest of Africa’s cement activities.