Global Cement News
Search Cement News
CRH submits bid for LafargeHolcim’s Indian assets 21 July 2015
India: CRH has reportedly submitted a binding bid for the Indian assets of the newly formed LafargeHolcim, according to the Irish Examiner.
CRH is already paying Euro6.5bn for certain assets in the Americas, Europe and Asia that needed to be offloaded to enable the LafargeHolcim merger. The transaction, which will make CRH the third-largest building materials business in the world, is set to formally conclude by the end of July 2015, although it will take slightly longer to finalise the takeover of the Asian assets.
HeidelbergCement and Barings Private Equity (Asia) have also reportedly submitted bids for LafargeHolcim assets in India. The reports have suggested a price of US$600 - 800m for the Indian assets, which include Lafarge's Sonadih cement plant and the Jojobera grinding station in the east of the country.
UltraTech Cement profit falls by 6% 21 July 2015
India: UltraTech Cement has reported a 6% fall in its consolidated net profit to US$92.9m for the first quarter of its 2015 – 2016 fiscal year, which ended on 30 June 2015. The Aditya Birla Group company had posted net profit of US$98.8m in the same period of 2014. Its consolidated net sales rose by 6% year-on-year to US$1bn from US$942m in the same quarter of 2014. Cement and clinker sales rose to 12.1Mt from 11.7Mt in the same period of 2014.
"Energy costs improved by 7%. The reduction in fuel prices was partially offset by the increase in railway freight. Input prices remained stable, except for the rise in royalty for limestone and levies under the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) (MMDR) Amendment Act 2015," said UltraTech Cement in a statement.
New Zealand: The third-largest lime producer in the world, US-based Graymont, has bought the Makareao lime plant in Otago from Holcim and took over the facility on 1 July 2015. Graymont, which has extensive interests in Canada, the US and Mexico, has also bought the McDonald's lime plant at Te Kuiti, Waikato, New Zealand.
Graymont Makareao's operations manager Craig Porter said that the lime plants' output had grown over the last two or three years and that he was excited about the new ownership. Staffing at the plant will not be affected.
Holcim's Weston cement plant project was put on hold in 2013 after it decided to import cement into New Zealand and build two new terminals, including one at Timaru, about four months from the completion of the plant. Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said that Holcim still owns the Weston site, associated quarries for limestone, coal and sand and consent for the cement plant that could be established there.
Ramadoss alleges Amma cement scam 20 July 2015
India: PMK founder S Ramadoss has rebuked the Tamil Nadu government over its recent statement that Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation has sold 10m bags of Amma cement, benefiting 133,000 families, according to the Times of India.
Amma cement has been sold through 470 warehouses or godowns in Tamil Nadu from 10 January 2015. "Jayalalithaa Jayaram (chief minister of Tamil Nadu) announced that 200,000/month of cement is being procured from private cement manufacturers and sold through government godowns for US$2.99/bag. As per this announcement, the government should have procured 1.25Mt or 25m bags of cement. Since the prices of Amma cement are low, they should have sold like hot cakes," said Ramadoss. He added that the government statement means that only 40% of the procured cement has been sold so far.
Ramadoss alleged that those who approach the government cement godowns to purchase Amma cement are often driven away. "Tokens are issued for those who want to purchase Amma cement and about 100,000 people who got tokens are awaiting supply. If the Tamil Nadu government actually procured 200,000t/month then all those who applied for cement should have been served," said Ramadoss. He said that the only reason for this not to have happened was either that the amount of cement claimed by the government was not procured, or the procured cement was sold to the black market.
Ramadoss has demanded that the government of Tamil Nadu publish a white paper on the total amount of cement procured, the amount of cement sold and measures taken to ensure seamless supply of cement.
Shiva Cement's cement dispatches up by 16% 20 July 2015
India: Shiva Cement's dispatches of cement and clinker in the April – June 2015 quarter rose by 16% year-on-year, according to MoneyControl.