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France: French multinational cement producer Vicat Group has reported on its cement sales for the three month period to 31 March 2016. A release from the company stated that ‘firm’ activity was observed in all of its regions apart from West Africa, with improvements in France, Egypt and Turkey relative to the prevailing poorer trends seen in 2015. This was buoyed by continued improvements in India and the US.
Vicat reported that its sales increased by 3.3% on a reported basis and by 6.5% at constant scope and exchange rates in the first quarter of 2016 relative to the same period of 2015. Cement sales totalled Euro291m, exactly matching the prior year period in reported terms but 5% up at constant scope and exchange rates. Consolidated sales across all activities came to Euro554m. In terms of cement volumes, the situation was much improved, with a 13.8% rise year-on-year to 4.83Mt.
"Vicat delivered solid growth in its business in the first quarter of the year,” said Vicat’s CEO Guy Sidos. “It is important to remember that sales in France and Turkey were boosted by significantly better weather conditions than in 2015 and are not representative of what can be expected for the full year.”
“The first few months of the year also confirmed the strong momentum in the
Turkish and US markets as well as the upturn in business in France seen since
the second half of 2015,” added Sidos. “In the rest of Europe, sales were up slightly in Switzerland and stable in Italy at a historically low level. In India, the market was boosted by the start of some large infrastructure projects, supporting the group's business in this region. Lastly, West Africa and the Middle East delivered a contrasting performance, with a very sharp pickup in business in Egypt offsetting a decline in West Africa, in particular in Mali and Mauritania.”
In France, Vicat’s sales came to Euro183m, an 8.9% year-on-year improvement. Cement sales in the country were up by 10.9%. In the rest of Europe (excluding France), overall consolidated sales were up marginally to Euro81m and operational sales derived from cement activities were down by 8.6%, although sales in Switzerland rose by 3.8%.
The US saw a 9.5% improvement in consolidated sales across all activities. In the cement sector, sales were markedly up by 18.4% in revenue terms and by 14% in volume terms.
In Vicat’s Asian region, which includes Turkey, India and Kazakhstan, consolidated sales were down by 2.4% year-on-year to Euro115m. Vicat recorded 20.4% growth in cement operational sales and volumes were up by almost 29%. This was, in part, thanks to better weather conditions than in 2015. There was significantly higher growth in the Ankara region of Turkey, boosted by the restart of one kiln and the commissioning of a second. Vicat’s Indian sales came in at Euro68m and Kazakhstan brought in Euro4.7m.
Vicat’s African operations were split in terms of performance. Egypt performed strongly, with consolidated sales of Euro33m, a 14.5% year-on-year rise for the quarter. However, this was not enough to offset a 7.4% fall in sales in West Africa, which restricted regional consolidated sales to Euro96m, a 2.6% fall year-on-year.
Philippines: Holcim Philippines’ profit was flat year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016 at US$31.7m, despite revenues increasing by 17% to US$213.6m. The company reported, however, that production costs rose by 23%, eating into revenues.
Holcim Philippines president and country chief executive Eduardo Sahagun said that the company’s first-quarter performance was due to its ability to make supply available in the market on time and its strong regional presence.
“Moving forward, we are cautiously optimistic as we await the results of the coming elections. Hopefully, the focus on infrastructure remains, as this is much needed by the country to sustain its development,” Sahagun said.
Cement demand in the Philippines grew 12% in the first quarter of 2016, on sustained rollout of private sector projects and higher state spending for infrastructure.
Pakistan: Cement sales are up in Pakistan, with All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association Chairman Muhammad Ali Tabba claiming that the sector is using 95% of its installed capacity. He said that strong export growth in March 2016 was ‘very encouraging’ and had been major factor behind the increased sales. Tabba highlighted new capacity being brought on by DG Khan, Lucky Cement, Cherat Cement and Attock Cement as indicative of the sector’s confidence in the Pakistani economy
Despite this, the sector remains accused of forming a cartel to keep cement prices high. Tabba rebuffed the claims, saying, “The industry is neither managing despatches nor the prices and is operating on the principles of free market economy.”
India: Cement maker Burnpur Cement plans to invest US$75m to increase the company’s grinding capacity from 0.6Mt/yr to 3Mt/yr, according to the company's vice chairman and managing director Ashok Gutgutia. He said that the investment would be spent over the next three to four years.
Burnpur Cement is a small Indian cement producer that operates two plants, one in Asansol (West Bengal) and one in Patratu (Jharkhand). Each plant operates at a capacity of 0.3Mt/yr.
How the investment will be split between the plants is unclear, but the announcement comes as the company is building a third 2Mt/yr plant in West Bengal, which was announced previously. When the three projects are complete Burnpur will have increased its capacity by nearly 10-fold, from 0.6Mt/yr to 5Mtyr.
Cimencam to ramp up grinding capacity in 2018 05 May 2016
Cameroon: Les Cimenteries du Cameroun (Cimencam), a subsidiary of the multinational LafargeHolcim, has announced that it has signed an investment agreement with the government for the construction of a new cement grinding unit in Nomayas.
The new US$40.3m installation is scheduled to start operation in 2018, initially with a capacity of 0.5Mt/yr. It will have the option to increase production to 1Mt/yr. The plant will use imported clinker from the port of Kribi.