Global Cement News

India: JSW Cement has entered the competition to acquire a 38% stake in Orient Cement from the CK Birla Group, against UltraTech Cement and Adani Group. UltraTech Cement is reportedly in advanced discussions with CK Birla, having proposed a share price range of US$4.18 - 4.48, which places the enterprise value at US$872m-931m. The Adani Group has also expressed interest in acquiring Orient Cement, although their negotiations have been hindered by valuation disputes and environmental clearance issues.

India: The board of Shiva Cement has approved plans to build a 1Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Sambalpur in Odisha. The unit will be built with Bhushan Power and Steel at one of its operating sites. As part of the deal Shiva Cement, a subsidiary of JSW Cement, has the option to buy the plant for US$45m. Approval from the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and other relevant governmental authorities will be required to set up the plant.

New Zealand: Fletcher Building says that a mechanical issue with a cement carrier ship is causing operational business for its Golden Bay Cement subsidiary. The Marine Vessel Aotearoa Chief (MVAC) ship is currently docked at Northport while inspections and repairs are made by the owner. The New Zealand Herald newspaper has reported that the ship is owned by China Navigation Company, an operating arm of the Hong Kong-based Swire. The ship normally transports cement around the North Island from Golden Bay’s cement plant near Whangārei. The cement producer added that “The timeframe required to make the necessary repairs and source replacement parts, is not known at this time.” Fletcher Building’s preliminary assessment is that it expects the impact on its 2025 financial year earnings to be up to US$18m.

Golden Bay has enacted its contingency plans to cope with the outage and is talking to its customers. It is using alternative transport options to distribute cement. including the use of an existing coastal barge and the greater use of road and rail options. The company is also investigating longer-term solutions, which include potentially sourcing the use of alternative cement supplies from domestic and offshore suppliers along with securing the use of a replacement ship if required.

China: China Energy Engineering (CEEC) has announced the completion of reliability testing for ‘CarbonBox’, Asia's ‘largest direct air capture device by capacity’, according to the company. Developed jointly by a CEEC subsidiary and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, CarbonBox can reportedly capture over 600t/yr of CO₂. This technology will help to contribute to the production of green methanol and aviation fuel. The device aims to reduce the traditionally high energy consumption and costs associated with direct air capture devices.

A recent report by the Administrative Centre for China’s Agenda 21 and two other institutes revealed that China is advancing in CCUS deployment, with nearly 100 planned and operational projects.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2024. It noted a 2% year-on-year decline to €5.5bn, down from €5.6bn in the same period in 2023. However, the company achieved a 5% increase in its result from current operations (RCO), which increased by €40m to €971m. Heidelberg Materials stated that it experienced a moderated slowdown in volumes across all business lines compared to the first quarter of 2024 due to weak activity in the construction sector and adverse weather conditions. The company maintains its 2024 financial year RCO forecast to be between €3bn and €3.3bn.