Global Cement News
Search Cement News
India: UltraTech Cement has increased its cement production capacity by 2.4Mt/yr through debottlenecking at integrated and grinding plants in Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal. Following the improvement exercise its total domestic capacity is 141Mt/yr and worldwide it is 146Mt/yr. The improvements were made at the Pali integrated plant in Rajasthan and grinding plants at Magdall in Gujarat, Sonar Bangla in West Bengal and Neem ka Thana in Rajasthan.
UltraTech to buy a minority stake in O2 Renewable Energy 28 March 2024
India: UltraTech Cement plans to acquire a 26% stake in O2 Renewable Energy for around US$2m. It is making the purchase to support the energy requirements of its plants from renewable sources, according to the Times of India newspaper. O2 Renewable Energy is currently building a solar power plant in Karnataka that is expected to generate 35 – 48MW.
Kyrgyzstan: The Terek-Tash cement plant in the Kemin district is expected to commence operations in August 2024. Akylbek Japarov, the chair of the country’s Cabinet of Ministers, made the announcement as part of a tour of the Chuy region, according to the Trend News Agency. The plant will have a production capacity of over 1Mt/yr and has had an investment of US$160m. The Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund has contributed US$45m to the project. Once completed the plant is expected to be one of the country’s largest industrial units. It will also use ash from the Bishkek thermal power plant.
Fujairah Cement’s loss grows in 2023 28 March 2024
UAE: Fujairah Cement’s revenue fell by 8% year-on-year to US$93.6m in 2023 from US$102m in 2022. It reported a net loss of US$72.3m, up by 85% from a loss of US$39.2m. The company blamed the situation on higher production costs due to rising coal and fuel prices. It said that it plans to increase its cement sales volumes domestically and internationally to improve its capacity utilisation rate. It operates an integrated cement plant at Dibba in Fujairah Emirate.
PPC revenue driven by performance in Zimbabwe 28 March 2024
South Africa: PPC’s revenue grew strongly in the 10 month period to 31 January 2024 mainly due to sales growth from its subsidiary in Zimbabwe. Revenue also mounted in the group’s South African and Botswana cement business, where prices rises offset falling sales volumes. Earnings grew across the business. The company said that sales volumes in the coastal region of South Africa “experienced a sharper decline than in the inland region, mainly due to a weaker retail market and a lack of infrastructure projects in the area.” It added that the performance in group’s South Africa and Botswana units had further deteriorated in February and March 2024. In Zimbabwe sales benefitted from both residential construction and government funded infrastructure projects, constrained imports and a low base in the previous reporting period.
PPC completed the sale of its 51% stake in Rwanda-based Cimerwa to Kenya-based Devki Group subsidiary National Cement in late January 2024.