Cement News tagged: International
Spain: Oficemen and unions sign wage agreement with government
Spain’s cement association, Oficemen, and the country’s largest unions CCOO and UGT have sign a IV agreement with the state, setting the annual minimum wage in the cement sector at EUR18,600 for the first year of service. A normal working day represents 1752h on an annual basis. The signing also included the renewal of the agreement, signed a decade ago, for the sustainable use of resource...
Southern Province posts flat full-year profit
Southern Province Cement posted a SAR1.006bn (US$268m) net profit in 2013, almost flat from SAR1bn the year before. Earnings per share stood at SAR1.013. Operating profit for the Kingdom’s largest cement firm by market value, fell from SAR1.008bn in 2012 to SAR973m last year.
Kazakhstan set to see the launch of two new plants in 2014
Two new plants are set to be launched in Kazakhstan's southwestern and northern regions this year, helping the central Asian country achieve its aim of self-sufficiency in cement supply. “The launch of new production facilities — Caspiycement in the Mangistau region (1Mta) and Kokshecement in the Akmola region (2Mta) — will allow to completely refuse from cement imports, increase cement exp...
EUR16m investment in Quinn SRF project
Aventas Group, formerly Quinn Manufacturing Group, is to invest EUR16m in an alternative fuels project at its Quinn Cement plant in Ireland. Aventas said it is to convert the 1.4Mta Ballyconnell plant to use solid recovered fuel (SRF) so it can reduce reliance on more expensive high-quality South African coal. According to plant manager, Barry King, the project will reduce carbon emissions by...
Steppe Cement revenue rises as Kazakh demand rises 13%
Kazakhstan producer Steppe Cement said its 2013 revenue was 8.7 per cent higher YoY, as demand in the central Asian country increased by an estimated 13 per cent to 8.1Mt during 2013. The company generated revenues of KZT19.47bn during the year, up from KTZ17.91bn in 2012. Cement sales reached 1.37Mt, up from 1.35Mt in 2012m an increase of 1.3 per cent. Steppe said this gave it a market s...
Kenyan prices hiked on new mining levy
Kenyan producers have raised cement prices following a new levy imposed by the Ministry of Mining. Najib Balala, the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, announced a KES140/t mining levy on cement on 18 December 2013, which translates to KES7/50kg bag. The decision has come much to the displeasure of some producers who have called the levy ‘unfair’ and ‘illegal.’ Due to the new levy, Natio...
Sephaku launches production at Delmas plant
Sephaku Cement began commercial production at its Delmas grinding plant on 6 January 2014 following a successful commissioning phase, Sephaku Holdings has announced. The Delmas plant, situated in east of Gauteng, is expected to ramp up capacity to 1.4Mta by mid-2014. CEO, Dr Lelau Mohuba, said: "This has been a nine-year journey and we are pleased to finally have our cement brand in the mark...
Cemex responds to CC report
Cemex has responded to the Competition Commission’s (CC) final report into the aggregates, ready-mix concrete and cement market in Great Britain, saying that the CC’s conclusion that there is insufficient competition in the cement market is “incorrect and therefore the remedies are disproportionate to the alleged harm which is itself unproven.” The watchdog criticised current cement market ...
Carpatcement to invest EUR15m this year
Carpatcement Holding, part of HeidelbergCement, plans to invest around EUR15m this year in energy efficiency, environmental projects and staff development. "Regardless of difficulties on the Romanian market, which we have considered, we have always pursued developing our presence in Romania in the long run. Although at times we have had to reduce activity, investments have remained a priorit...
Saudi Cement 4Q13 profit down 8% YoY
Saudi Cement reported an eight per cent fall in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, attributed to lower sales and rising raw material costs. In the three months to the end of December the company posted a net profit of SAR256m (US$68.3m), down from the SAR278m in the same period of the year before, according to a statement to Saudi Arabia’s bourse. Saudi Cement attributed the profit drop t...
Indonesia full-year growth rate decelerates
Indonesian cement sales increased by 5.6 per cent in 2013, less than half the rate of growth of 14.5 per cent the year before, due to slower demand particularly in outer Java. Domestic cement sales for the January-December 2013 period reached 58Mt, according to the latest data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). Including imports sales reached 59.5Mt. In Java, sales growth slowe...
UK watchdog to force Hanson to sell GGBS production facility
The UK’s Competition Commission (CC) plans to force Hanson to sell off one of its facilities as part of a move to introduce a fifth player to the market to increase competition. In its final report into the domestic aggregates, cement and ready-mix concrete markets, the CC said identified competition problems resulting from there being only one domestic producer of GGBS in Great Britain (Han...
Full-year Saudi cement sales rise 4%
Cement sales in Saudi Arabia increased by four per cent in 2013 to 55.6Mt compared to 53.5Mt in 2012, a report released by local producer Yamama Cement Co has revealed. However a six per cent YoY decline was recorded in December to 4.79Mt, with all but four cement companies reporting a drop in sales. Increases were seen at Madinah Cement (+40 per cent), Arabian Cement (+37 per cent), Northe...
EAPCC plans to hike capacity, Kenya
East African Portland Cement (EAPCC), Kenya’s third largest producer, is planning to install a new clinker line and mill to lift capacity by 2016, the company’s CEO told local press. EAPCC, in which Lafarge and Bamburi Cement have a 41 per cent stake, operates a 1.4Mta cement plant in Athi River. Speaking to Standard Media of Kenya, Kepha Tande said the company is carrying out a feasibil...
Vicem 2013 revenue rises 7% YoY
Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem), Vietnam’s leading domestic producer, said its revenues rose by seven per cent YoY in 2013 to more than VND30.5trn (US$1.45bn). State-run Vietnam news agency reported that Vicem posted a pretax profit of VND528bn and contributed VND1.03trn to the state budget last year. Cement and clinker output for the state-run cement producer rose by 8.8 per ce...
US shipments see annual gains
Total shipments of blended cement in the US and Puerto Rico in October 2013 were 8.7Mt, up eight per cent from October 2012, latest data from the USGS shows. Shipments for the year through October were 70.3Mt, up by about four per cent. The leading Portland cement-producing states in October were Missouri, California, Texas, Michigan and Florida (in descending order), accounting for about 43...