Global Cement News

Peru: Cement producers in Peru dispatched 0.94Mt of cement in September 2019, up by 7.4% on the September 2018 figure of 0.88Mt. Demand continues to outstrip domestic production, with a 6.5% increase to 1.0Mt from 0.97Mt in September 2019. Consumers imported a total of 50,000t, primarily from Vietnam.

Russia: Swiss-based LafargeHolcim has signed a cooperation agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for the purposes of supporting market growth and attaining to international quality, sustainability and energy efficiency standards. Contify Investment News has reported that LafargeHolcim, whose total integrated capacity of 9.4Mt in Russia is spread across four plants, will receive equity co-investments for projects from the Russian sovereign wealth fund. Maxim Goncharov, CEO of LafargeHolcim Russia, said that the partnership facitates the company’s global expertise "in solving target issues related to the industry’s and society’s development,” such as the co-processing of waste as a substitute fuel.

Kazakhstan: China Gezhouba Group has inaugurated a 0.9Mt/yr clinker production plant in the Kyzylorda region. Central Asia News has reported that the plant will produce nine types of cement, with oil well cement its major product. This is aimed at diminishing the Kazakh oil industry’s dependence on cement imports. China Gezhouba Group chairman Li Ming said: “the alignment of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Kazakhstan’s Bright Path economic policy brings great prospects for the China-Kazakhstan cement production capacity.”

The new cement plant is the first in the region and will employ 260 people.

India: Ultratech has reported a profit after tax in the three months to 30 September 2019 of US$81.8m, up by 62.6% from US$50.3m in the third quarter of 2018. The company made sales of US$1.34bn in the period, a year-on-year improvement of 4.4% from US$1.28 over the same three months of 2018. In spite of nationwide monsoon flooding, which was heaviest in Ultratech’s key operating areas of Eastern and Central India, and depressed demand, the company consolidated its 117Mt/yr capacity with the acquisition of Century Cement in September 2019. Ultratech’s reliance on renewable power grew to 10.5% from 8.4% in the previous three months to 30 June 2019, cutting energy costs by 9.0%. During the period, Ultratech carried out annual maintenance across its installed capacity, resulting in a relatively low capacity utilisation and raising variable costs by 3.0% in comparison to the previous quarter. The company said that it is ready to meet normalised cement demand going forward, with the government’s commitment to a thrust in infrastructure spending bolstering positive expectations. Ultratech, the World’s third biggest cement company, is the only one to have a capacity greater than 100Mt/yr in a single country outside of China.

India: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Ambuja Cement has grown its consolidated net profit by 35% year-on-year to US$73.4m in the three months to 30 September 2019 from US$55.9m in the corresponding period of 2018. Revenue grew by 1.5% to US$0.87bn from US$0.86bn. Ambuja managing director and CEO Bimlendra Jha spoke in positive terms of the growth in spite of falling volumes. Expenses fell amidst logistics improvements, as Ambuja continues to focus on product mix enrichment, alternative fuel substitution and the increased use of renewable energy.

Other Indian cement companies to weather stagnant third quarter sales with growing net profit were Shree Cement with 414% growth to US$43.6m and ACC with 45% growth to US$29.5m.