Cement News tagged under: East Africa
Kenya: ARM will look to improve margins13 September 2016, Published under Cement NewsARM Cement posted a pretax loss of KES473.5m (US$4.5 m) in the first six months, which the firm attributed to unrealised foreign exchange losses associated with borrowing for its new clinker plant. Managing Director, Pradeep Paunrana, told Reuters that the new 1.2Mta clinker plant has only been operating at about 75 per cent capacity since production began in April. "What this essentially means is that our production cost has come down drastically because imported clinker is much more expen... |
PPC eyes longer-term growth outside of Africa16 March 2016, Published under Cement NewsPPC has unveiled a new expansion strategy that envisages doubling the business every 10 years and growing beyond its traditional markets in Africa. In an investor presentation posted on PPC's website ahead of this week’s Merrill Lynch conference in Sun City, the company set out its ambitions for the future even as it warned of falling cement sales in the first months of FY16. In the presentation, PPC states that it is on course to raise capacity to 12.7Mta by 2018 (a 47.7 per cent inc... |
Double-digit growth in Kenyan demand and output28 April 2015, Published under Cement NewsKenya’s National Bureau of Statistics Data shows cement production stood at 5.88Mt in 2014, up 16.27 per cent from the 5.05Mt recorded a year earlier. Cement consumption in 2014 stood at 5.19Mt from 4.26Mt in 2013, rising by 22 per cent YoY. East African Portland Cement Co managing director, Kephar Tande, said the growth in demand of cement will continue due to the ongoing infrastructural projects. “Infrastructural projects have played a big part in the growth in demand of cement and will c... |
National Cement plans expansion into Uganda14 April 2015, Published under Cement NewsNational Cement, which currently operates a grinding plant in Kenya, plans to invest KES18.5bn (US$199m) in a new factory in Uganda, according to local news reports. The new plant marks the company's first foray into Uganda, and its first venture outside Kenya. With a capacity of 1Mta, the new cement facility is expected to be completed by the end of next year, the report by Ventures Africa states. In its home market of Kenya, National Cement operates a 0.35Mta grinding works in Athi Rive... |
Lafarge Zambia to kickstart expansion project in 2H1508 April 2015, Published under Cement NewsLafarge Zambia will begin work on a EUR200m expansion project in the second half of this year, Emmanuel Rigaux, chief executive of the Lafarge unit, said last week. The work will double Lafarge Zambia’s existing capacity, adding 1Mta. The company is proceeding with the project despite Dangote Cement due to launch its own 1.5Mta plant in Zambia. However, Mr Rigaux told the Cape Times that demand from neighbouring DR of Congo would help absorb the additional volumes. "The growth there is mass... |
ARM posts flat full-year pretax profit26 March 2015, Published under Cement NewsKenya's ARM Cement posted a pretax profit of KES2.02bn (US$22m) for 2014, up one per cent YoY. The cement maker, which also has operations in Tanzania, said its revenue for the period fell three per cent to KES13.74bn, mainly because there was no additional capacity expansion during the period, the firm said. In a statement, the firm predicted that this year would be better, with growth in turnover and profit. "The cement markets continue to grow at double digits with significant demand f... |
EAC producers call for review and uniformity of standards19 February 2015, Published under Cement NewsRegional producers in the East African Community are calling for cement and limestone standards to be reviewed and harmonised in accordance with international best practices. According to reports by AllAfrica news, the move follows complaints from producers over lack of uniformity on standards that govern the industry, which they said affects competitiveness of the sector and ultimately intra-regional trade, especially cement exports. Fidelis Sakwa, a representative of the EAC cement produ... |
East Africa rises05 November 2014, Published under Cement NewsEast Africa’s cement demand continues to rise as infrastructure and housing needs provide the basis for future consumption. While cement capacity investments continue, a shift in the make-up of ownership is being seen as local companies take up a more prominent position. By Francis Mwangi, Standard Investment Bank Ltd, Kenya. The emerging East African market is characterised by new capacities, growing exports and growing consumption trends Over the past decade, the east African ... |
Kenya: Savannah Cement to widen its east African sales21 October 2014, Published under Cement NewsSavannah Cement has confirmed plans to develop its business to the wider east African market as part of its regional integration support. The project will see the company pursue sales opportunities in all the east African countries by next year, the firm’s Managing Director, Ronald Ndegwa, has said. “Savannah Cement’s overall corporate development is anchored on a regional market coverage strategy and we are glad that we have made good inroads in the respective east African markets,” Mr... |
GCR affirms ARM Cement's ratings, outlook Stable30 June 2014, Published under Cement NewsGlobal Credit Ratings (GCR) has today affirmed the national scale ratings assigned to ARM Cement Ltd of A(KE) and A1(KE) in the long term and short term respectively. The outlook is Stable. GCR said the Kenyan cement producer's well-entrenched position in the East African cement industry has been augmented by an aggressive roll-out of capacity in the past five years. With the completion of the Tanga plant in Tanzania later this year, ARM will secure clinker sufficiency in FY14/FY15, which... |