Cement News tagged: Corporate
Breedon Group closes operations in Ireland
Breedon Group has announced the temporary closure of its plants in the Republic of Ireland, including its Kinnegad cement plant, with the exception of those serving health projects or critical road and utility infrastructure. The closure is in addition to other measures announced last week and follows the Irish government introducing restrictions on non-essential businesses from 27 March. ...
Egyptian cement prices fall 3% in March
The price of Portland cement in Egypt fell 2.5 per cent MoM to EGP780/t (US$49.4/t) in March 2020, compared to EGP800/t in February, according to the Central Administration of Needs and Building Materials. White cement prices remained stable at EGP2400/t during the first three months of 2020, the report added. Elsewhere, ready-mixed concrete prices remained stable YoY at around EGP725/m 3 ...
Qatar National Cement to shut two plants this week
Qatar National Cement has announced that it will shut down two plants from 1 April to slow the spread of coronavirus and as an impact of lower demand in the local market. Therefore, the company’s board will close factories four and five until further notice, according to a statement.
HeidelbergCement India completes two upgrade projects
HeidelbergCement India has completed two debottlenecking projects at Imlai, Madya Pradesh, and Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. The grinding capacity of these plants has been raised to 2.5Mta and 3.25Mta at Imlai and Jhansi, respectively. The projects were both completed in their scheduled timelines, with the grinding capacity of the company now standing at 6.26Mta.
BUA provides funds for COVID-19 relief in Nigeria
Nigeria’s BUA has fulfilled a pledge by transferring NGN1bn (US$2.6m) of funds to the COVID-19 relief account with the Central Bank of Nigeria. In addition, the group also announced another donation of NGN300m to Sokoto, Edo and Ogun states to further assist an adequate COVID-19 response. These additional donations will be made on behalf of its BUA Cement subsidiary which has major producti...
Carthage Cement completes capital increase
Tunisia’s Carthage Cement has successfully completed a capital increase for TND206m (US$71.89m) or 77 per cent of the initial operation. The capital increase was carried out through MAC SA, a stock market intermediary, and will serve to rebalance its financial structure and reduce debt. As a result, the company’s capital will rise to TND343.6m.
Moody's changes outlook for Votorantim Cimentos
The outlook for Brazil’s Votorantim Cimentos has been downgraded from positive to negative by Moody’s Investors Service. However, the Ba1 rating for the company has been affirmed. The credit ratings agency has also downgraded the outlook for Votorantim Cimentos’ subsidiary St Marys Cement to negative from positive.
UNTHA to expand in Poland
Industrial shredder manufacturer UNTHA is predicting that 2020 will be the biggest year yet for its Polish subsidiary, as the waste market continues to boom. The shredding technology specialist first moved into Poland in late 2013, when a dedicated office was established in Krakow on the back of growing interest in UNTHA’s machinery – a relocation to Warsaw followed. While the country has at...
Vicat to revise 2020 outlook in view of coronavirus
Vicat has warned that while its 2020 outlook needs to be revised in terms of the potential impact of COVID-19 on the cement producer’s business, it is not able at this stage to provide a detailed and accurate assessment of how its markets and financial performance will develop during the course of the year. Adaptation measures have already been implemented, including a plan to reduce operati...
Cevian builds CRH stake
Swedish activist fund Cevian has bought further shares in CRH in less than a fortnight. The fund now holds a 3.145 per cent stake in the Ireland-based building materials producer. Cevian first purchased shares in CRH in February, calling for a simplification of the business, but has since appeared more supportive of the management. "When this [coronavirus outbreak] passes, CRH's fundamenta...
Dalmia Bharat suspends entire manufacturing capacity
India’s Dalmia Bharat has suspended its entire 26.5Mta of cement manufacturing capacity as a result of the coronavirus, according to a press release. "We are continuously monitoring the situation and the immediate task is to ensure that the chain of transmission of COVID-19 breaks. We will decide to restart production once the lockdown is over, based on the directions of the state and centra...
China Resources Cement sees 8% increase in net profit
China Resources Cement Holdings has reported an 8.1 per cent increase in net profit to HKD8.62bn (US$1.11bn) for 2019. Revenue inched up 0.4 per cent YoY to HKD38.96bn. The company attributed the improved profit margins to lower costs for cement sales. Since the company's principal business area is in mainland China, the yuan's weakness against the Hong Kong dollar in 2019 lowered the compa...
DG Khan suspends operations at Kofli Sattai and Khairpur plants
In view of the measures to fight the spread of COVID-19 including the current lockdown by the authorities, Pakistan-based cement producer DG Khan will temporarily suspend the plant operations at Kofli Sattai, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Khairpur, Chakwal, in Punjab, with immediate effect, said the company in a Pakistan Stock Exchange filing. The two plants have a total production capacity of 4.22Mta....
Grupo Argos to cut costs by nearly US$245m in 2020
Colombia’s Grupo Argos, parent of Cementos Argos, is expected to defer investments and cut spending by nearly COP1trn (US$245m) this year, amid uncertainty about the economic impact of the coronavirus, according to Reuters. The group will postpone investments of COP700bn and cut costs by COP250bn. The measures will hit certain expansion projects, as the company looks to protect jobs and en...
Cemex completes Castillejo access work
Cemex has finalised the upgrade work on the access roads to the Huerta de Valdecarábanos quarry and the crushing area of its Castillejo plant in Toledo. The company placed some 450m 3 of rolled compacted concrete (RCC) to prevent dust and mud emission as well as improving access for vehicles. RCC can be installed using the usual asphalt equipment and does not require special equipment. The ...
LafargeHolcim implements coronavirus action plan
LafargeHolcim has announced the implementation of its action plan regarding the coronavirus pandemic, stating that it is closely monitoring all markets and the guidance provided by the authorities in each country. "In China, the recovery of the construction sector has started and all our plants outside of Hubei Province are operating. We forecast the market demand to further recover and to ...