Cement News tagged: Corporate
Kenya: ARM will look to improve margins
ARM 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 mea...
Zimbabwe: SZCC demands deeds to land
Sino-Zimbabwe Cement Company (SZCC) has requested that government grant it the title deeds for Indiva Farm, where the company is located. The state-owned Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ) provided SZCC with the land in 2001 when it first began operations, however the deeds were never officially transferred to the company and therefore Indiva Farm is still considered stat...
LafargeHolcim launches new cement in northern Morocco
LafargeHolcim Morocco launched its new cement ‘Perfecto’ in the northern Moroccan market. The product, produced in the company’s Tangier plant, is specifically geared to all masonry work and as it supports the needs of construction companies, builders and individuals, it is expected the new brand will help to develop the construction market in Tangier, Tetouan and Al Hoceima areas. The nort...
USA: Martinsburg plant sale to reduce HeidelbergCement's debt funding
The gap to repay a EUR2.7bn bridge facility that supports HeidelbergCement's purchase of Italcementi is set to close, once the HeidelbergCement cashes in the sale of its Martinsburg cement plant. On 8 September HeidelbergCement sealed an agreement to sell Essroc's plant in West Virginia to Colombian cement producer Cementos Argos for EUR580m. This follows HeidelbergCement's acquisition of...
Lehigh Cement lays off 39 workers
According to the union that represents more than 75 per cent of the workers at Lehigh Southwest Cement’s plant north of Redding, California, USA, Lehigh Cement made the decision to lay off 39 workers on Friday, 9 September 2016. Curt Aderhold, president of the union, said an email was sent out on Thursday evening to inform of the layoffs. Junior employees were said to be immediately let go....
South Africa: PPC sets terms for its US$280m rights issue
PPC has set terms for its ZAR4bn (US$280m) rights issue after the deal was almost unanimously approved by shareholders at the start of August. The rights issue has been talked about by the company since December 2015. Yet it has become all the more urgent and complex since S&P downgraded the company’s credit rating from A to BB- in May. “That triggered the need for the capital increase,...
Holcim Indonesia sees sales volume grow by 21.1% in 1H16
PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk, part of the LafargeHolcim Group, noted that domestic sale prices of cement dipped 17 per cent in 1H16, but the company still achieved 11.5 per cent increase in sales revenues to IDR4.8tn (US$3.66m) and a 10 per cent improvement in absolute gross profit. This price erosion is expected to continue, the company said. An enlarged operation which includes Lhoknga cement p...
Tough operating climate for Lafarge Malaysia Bhd
Kenanga Research, the research arm of Kenanga Investment Bank, has rated the outlook for Lafarge Malaysia Bhd as neutral, because of the country's weak property market coupled with the current oversupply situation. While Lafarge Malaysia has two cement plants in Rewang, Selangor, and Kanthan, Perak, are undergoing capacity expansion projects, there is intense competition, putting pre...
Zimbabwe: SZCC considers cutting shifts as downturn hits sales
The Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company (SZCC), which operates an integrated plant in Gweru in central Zimbabwe, has said that it is considering reducing the number of shifts at the facility from three to just one in the face of declining sales. Zimbabwe’s economy has suffered from a prolonged drought, while manufacturers have also had to contend with smuggled cement from South Africa. Speaking...
Sai Son Cement VND50bn renovation project
Sai Son Cement (SCJ) announced that it will spend nearly VND450bn (US$20.17m) on renovation projects of clinker production lines at its Nam Son Cement plant, an decision reached at a recent General Assembly. The investment will go towards renovating the plant’s equipment to save energy, which will in turn improve the economic efficiency of the clinker production lines. Some 20 per cent of t...
Ethiopia: Dangote plant attracted with cheap power deal
Dangote’s decision to establish a 2.5Mta cement plant in Ethiopia was motivated by a government guarantee of cheap electricity, Muhammadu Sanusi, the Emir of Kano, has claimed at a meeting of Nigeria’s National Council on Development Planning. In a speech reported in the Premium Times, the former Central Bank of Nigeria governor said that Dangote was promised a price of US$0.03/kWh if it wo...
Bangladesh: BCIC plans new Chhatak mill as cement demand rises
Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corp (BCIC), a unit of Bangladesh Ministry of Industries, is implementing a new cement mill project as the company converts its wet-process line at Chhatak Cement Company Ltd (CCCL) to dry-process. The project is estimated to take three years to complete through international tender. The factory is located in the district of Sunamgonj in northeastern Ban...
India: Sagar Cements sales down 13.7% for 1HFY16-17
Sagar Cements has released its sales and production figures for the period to August 2016, reports Accord Fintech. These show that sales at the company fell by 13.73 per cent to 0.665Mt in the period April-August 2016 when compared to those of a year earlier. Production also declined, but less severely, being down by 1.52 per cent to 0.66Mt. In the month of August alone, sales were down ...
Vietnam: Xuan Thanh Cement orders Loesche mills
Loesche has won an order to supply two cement mills for a new line at Xuan Thanh Cement’s plant in Hà Nam in northern Vietnam. Xuan Thanh announced in March 2014 that it had secured government approval for its plans to expand its existing facilities at the plant to a capacity of 4.5Mta. The new mills will enable the company to realise this goal. The agreement will see Loesche supply two ...
Consolidated Gold Holdings enters JV to acquire plant
Consolidated Gold Holdings announced it has entered into a preliminary agreement to form a joint venture with a major Asian industrial and mining group to supply and distribute cement throughout the Philippines and Indonesia. The joint venture will include the acquisition of an existing 1Mta cement plant in the Philippines, which will be used to grind and process clinker imported from China...
Hong Kong: TCC International increases its shareholding in TCC
TCC International Holdings Ltd (TCCI) declared that Chia Hsin Pacific Ltd under Chia Hsin Cement Corporation plans to sell off 3030m common shares in TCC to TCC International Ltd for HKD 2.2 per share or HKD667m in total. Payment will start on 8 September, after which TCCI will raise its shareholding in TCC from 56.92 per cent to 63.05 per cent, while Chia Hsin Pacific will then hold less th...