Turkey’s Sabanci Holding cement group plans US$367m investment, mainly for
capacity increase this year, said head of Sabanci’s cement group Erhan
Kamisli. Akcansa will invest US$310m while, Cimsa and Oysa will
invest US$62m and US$4m, respectively. With these investments, the group
will reach an annual clinker production capacity of 11.3Mt and will
also be able to produce 18.7Mt of cement annually, according to
Kamisli.
After the completion of the investments, Sabanci cement group will
capture a market share of 19.5-20 per cent, stated Kamisli and added that afterwards
Sabanci would seek to expand its operations abroad. Currently, Sabanci is
the largest cement producer in the country and the competition rules do not
permit Sabanci’s further growth, thus the company will seek to expand
operations through acquisitions in politically stable Middle East and the
Balkan states, noted Kamisli.
Cimsa may try to acquire or establish a cement plant in the Middle East,
according to Kamisli. Sabanci Cement companies target to increase net sales
by 16.4 per cent YoY to TRY 1.26bn this year, however expect exports to decline by
2.4 per cent YoY to 1.66Mt due to rising domestic demand. The Group’s pre-tax profit
projection from cement operations for this year stands at TRY 304mn.
