Friday, October 30, 2015

INDONESIA: Cement Production to Reach 30 Million Tons in 2016

PT Semen Indonesia CEO Suparni predicted this year`s company production will reach 30 million tons and is optimistic that sales performance will improve in Q4 2015 until next year.

“Next year we will increase the number to 5 percent. This year is at 28.6 million tons, so its almost 30 million,” Suparni said in Jakarta on Thursday, Oct 30. This is prompted by the abundant infrastructure projects that has started.

“Starting August 2015, we recorded an increase that continue to rise until this day,” said Suparni. Since August 2015, the company recorded the company’s production unit in Padang, Gresik, and Tonasa that have begun to achieve maximum utility.

Suparni also said the company started to supply some infrastructure projects whether it is worked by the government or private companies. “Those projects include tolls, dams, and others,” said Suparni.

Looking by the numerous infrastructure projects that have been worked on, Suparni predicts that next year’s company expenditure will be up by 20-25 percent. He also expects the company’s earning to increase around 5-6 percent as prices will also go up.

ESPAÑA: Lafarge Holcim plantea recortar el 10% de su plantilla en España

Lafarge Holcim ha planteado a los sindicatos un ajuste del 10% en su plantilla en España, lo que afectará a un centenar de trabajadores, según informaron en fuentes sindicales. La multinacional cementera plantea el recorte de personal menos de un año después de la fusión de las dos compañías que dio lugar al actual grupo.

Según dichas fuentes, el ajuste afectará fundamentalmente al personal administrativo y de oficinas del grupo, que actualmente cuenta con un total de unos 1.000 empleados en España.

El recorte se registra tras los sucesivos expedientes de regulación de empleo (ERE) que Holcim ha aplicado en España desde el inicio de la crisis y antes de la fusión.

Según los sindicatos, estos ERE afectaron a unos 2.000 empleados. El último de ellos se firmó en abril de 2014 y afectó a 123 trabajadores, el 20,5% de la plantilla que entonces tenía la empresa en el país.

Además, en enero de ese año, poco después de anunciarse la fusión con Lafarge, Holcim vendió a Cemex dos instalaciones de las que tiene en España. En concreto, le traspasó la planta de cemento de Gádor (Almería) y la de molienda de Yeles (Toledo).

Tras esta venta, Holcim aseguró que se quedaba con instalaciones en España con una capacidad de producción de 2,2 millones de toneladas de cemento.

En concreto, cuenta con una planta en Carboneras (Almería), y otra en Jérez de la Frontera (Cádiz), además de instalaciones de árido y hormigón.

De su lado, Lafarge tiene en España tres fábricas de cemento, situadas en Montcada i Reixac (Barcelona), Sagunto (Valencia) y Villaluenga de la Sagra (Toledo), además de una estación de molienda de cemento, ocho puntos de distribución de cemento y unas cuarenta centrales de fabricación de hormigón, entre plantas fijas y móviles.

CAMEROON: CIMAF Inaugurates Cement Plant

A production plant belonging to cement producer Afrique Ciment (CIMAF), a subsidiary of the Moroccan group Addoha located in the industrial area of Bonaberi in Douala has been inagurated by the Prime Minister, Philemon Yang.

During the inauguration, the President of Addoha Group, Anas Sefrioui, who made the trip to Cameroon expressed satisfaction that his firm is “contributing to the development of intra-African cooperation.”

The commissioning of the plant comes nearly a year after the start of cement production by the plant with a current capacity of 500,000 tons per year.

Over CFA 20 billion francs was invested for the cement project to take off after the first foundation stone was laid in 2012.

In recent months, the locally made cement bags with CIMAF insignias are being sold in Cameroon and the Central African region which contributes to strengthening the supply of the building material.

Other cement producers in Cameroon include the Cement of Cameroon (CIMENCAM) a subsidiary of the French group Lafarge and Dangote Group (DCM).

PARAGUAY: Ya hay cemento pero persiste la especulación

El titular de la INC garantizó que ya se normalizó la provisión de cemento, por lo que deberían bajar los precios, que ya habían trepado de G. 45.000 a G. 80.000 por bolsa. Reconoció, sin embargo, que aún hay especulación, por lo que instó a denunciar.

Jorge Méndez, titular de la Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC), se refirió a la crisis en la provisión de cemento que se inició a fines de setiembre y que -teóricamente- debe acabar en estos días.

En contacto con Canal 100, mencionó que la estatal ya llegó a su producción habitual y actualmente está trabajando al 100% de su capacidad, por lo que diariamente despacha 55.000 bolsas. La emisión había caído hasta 30.000 bolsas por día, hecho que se dio justamente en un momento de auge en las construcciones, lo que generó preocupación y especulación de precios.

Considerando que el ente solo puede responder al 50% de la demanda local, ya se inició la importación del producto, según confirmó. “Empezamos la importación de cemento para cubrir lo que el sector privado dejó de importar”, refirió. Comentó que el Paraguay actualmente trae cemento del Brasil para paliar el déficit y estabilizar el mercado. La empresa Distripén fue la adjudicada para traer un mínimo de 200.000 bolsas de cemento Votoran y un máximo de 400.000.

Ante este nuevo escenario, teóricamente ya deberían normalizarse los precios. Sin embargo, la especulación persiste en algunos puntos, según reconoció el mismo funcionario. “Producto ya hay, lo que pasa es que hay mucha especulación”, sostuvo.

Lamentó que haya empresarios que “solo quieren seguir ganando un buen margen” a costa de la ciudadanía e instó a denunciar los casos a Defensa del Consumidor del Ministerio de Industria y Comercio (MIC).

Al ser abordado respecto a qué hace la INC considerando que está consciente de que persisten los abusos, aseguró que se realizó un sondeo en Asunción y que no pudo aún identificar casos específicos. “Vimos que están vendiendo a G. 55.000 la bolsa cuando antes llegaron a vender a G. 75.000”, aseguró finalmente.

De acuerdo a las denuncias ciudadanas, el precio del cemento -que hasta hace meses se podía conseguir a G. 45.000 la bolsa- trepó hasta los G. 80.000 e inclusive -en algunos casos- los G. 100.000.

Méndez reafirmó que para el próximo año se prevé una disminución de precios, considerando que el horno de clínker operará con combustible alternativo. “El año que viene por fin viene el cambio de combustible y va a aumentar la capacidad del horno y ahí vamos a bajar los precios”, refirió.

Comentó que la intención es que las instalaciones funcionen como “motor flex”, es decir inclusive pueda utilizarse un porcentaje de biocombustibles para ahorrar costos.

PAKISTAN: Lucky Cement announces Rs2.97b profit, expansion plans

Lucky Cement – one of the largest cement makers in the country – made the most anticipated announcement in the cement sector on Thursday, saying that it will construct a green field plant that would have 2.3 million tons capacity in central Punjab.

The announcement was made via a company notice sent to the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE).

The project cost is expected to be $200 million and it construction would begin in the first quarter of calendar year 2016, while operations are tipped to begin by the second quarter of 2018.

“The official announcement of a new plant is an important development for the cement sector, but it is not going to pose any threat of a price war between cement companies because this new plant would become operational in three years,” Sherman Securities analyst Saqib Hussain Khan told The Express Tribune.

He further said that with the current, continuous improvement in local cement consumption, companies are positioned comfortably with the present price mechanism in the market. “Better local cement sales have also offset the continuous decline in Pakistan’s cement exports.”

“Investors on KSE-100 Index preferred to trim their positions in the cement sector following Lucky’s announcement of expanding operations in the Punjab region,” said a Topline Securities note.

“The fundamentals of cement industry are so well placed, that the price war concerns in the market would diminish soon,” said analysts.

Speaking to The Express Tribune recently, Lucky Cement CEO Muhammad Ali Tabba said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) positive effects are already becoming apparent. “There is improved domestic cement consumption in Pakistan.”

The company is also optimistic about its volumetric growth in the current financial year,” the notice read.

Lucky posts profit of Rs2.97b in 1QFY16

Lucky Cement, along with its expansion plans, announced a net profit Rs2.97 billion in the first quarter (Jul-Sep) of fiscal year 2015-16, up 11.2% compared to Rs2.67 billion in the same period of last year, according to the company notice sent to KSE on Thursday. Earnings per share (EPS) jumped to Rs9.18 from an EPS of Rs8.25 in the period under review.

According to a JS Research report, the result was in-line with the EPS forecast of Rs8.92 for the quarter.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

KENYA: ARM Cement reports 9-month loss

Kenya's ARM Cement posted a pretax loss of Sh645 million for the nine months to September, blaming losses related to the depreciation in regional currencies against the dollar, the company said yesterday.

The cement maker, which reported pretax profit of Sh1.62 billion in same period of 2014, said revenue for the first nine months of 2015 rose seven per cent to Sh11.7 billion, thanks to increased cement sales in Kenya and in Tanzania.

While the demand for cement grew more than 10 per cent during the period, "the sharp depreciation of both the Kenyan and Tanzanian currencies in the nine months has resulted in an unrealized exchange loss," the company said in a statement.

It said the loss amounted to Sh2 billion on the firm's dollar denominated borrowings.

"The fundamentals for continued economic and construction sector growth remain strong despite the recent currency depreciation and increase in interest rates," the company said.

Kenya's shilling has lost about 12 per cent against the dollar so far this year. Tanzania's shilling has lost nearly 20 per cent of its value.

Booming construction in East Africa have buoyed demand for cement in recent years but local firms are preparing for increased competition from new entrants like Nigeria's Dangote Cement, which is investing in Kenya.

The company said its board did not recommend paying an interim dividend. The company paid a first and final dividend of 0.60 shillings per share for 2014.

THAILAND: Siam Cement Conglomerate cuts cement demand forecast for 2015

Cement demand at Thailand's largest construction materials maker, Siam Cement Group, dropped year on year in the third quarter through September, reversing a pickup in the previous three months, as cement use in the residential and retail sectors fell on weak consumer confidence.

"I believe that cement demand would be plus next year," said Kan Trakulhoon, SCG president and CEO, at an earnings conference Wednesday. This year, however, demand looks flat, at around 40 million tons, he said, lowering the company's earlier forecast for a 3% rise. If the new outlook proves correct, it will be the second year in a row that demand for cement, which Kan sees as an important economic indicator, fails to expand. Cement and building materials are a core business for SCG, accounting for 40% of its revenue. Slumping demand dragged down the company's sales for the third quarter by 11%, year on year, to 110 billion baht ($3.2 billion).

Kan said he hopes the government's stimulus measures launched last month will start boosting demand "toward the end of the year." The measures include soft loans to low income earners, cash grants to villages for construction and repair work, and small government projects. Infrastructure projects in the pipeline will also help.

Despite the contraction in the top-line number, SCG is expected to book a record profit this year, thanks to lower crude oil prices. Lower input costs improved margins in the company's chemical business. Net profit rose 15% in the third quarter, year on year. For the nine months through September, profit climbed 37% to 33.951 billion baht, beating last year's full-year profit of 33.6 billion baht.

With the economic recovery at home slower than expected, SCG is pushing ahead with investments in neighboring countries, looking to capitalize on stronger demand outside Thailand. A new cement plant in Indonesia is to start commercial operations by the end of the year, while a second production line at its Cambodian cement plant is also in the works. Cement plants in Myanmar and Laos are to go online in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

To enhance Siam Cement's name recognition in these countries, and compete with global brands, the company recently changed the name of its Tra Chang brand, which it had been using in Thailand and Laos, to the better known SCG brand.

JAMAICA: Caribbean Cement Scores $1.48b Of Profit

In a robust third quarter for Caribbean Cement Company, the commodity producer reported an eightfold growth at the bottom line to $617 million that was fuelled by stronger sales and lower production costs, as well as a more manageable debt load.

In the nine-month period, the cement maker made $1.48 billion of profit off turnover of close to $12 billion. Last year, the company reported a profit of $25 million.

Caribbean Cement, which is now being run by a Cemex-backed manager, Alejandro Vares, did not disclose the actual volume sales of cement and clinker in the periods under review, as it has traditionally done with other quarterly earnings reports. Instead, the company focused on sales performance.

"Domestic sales volume for the third quarter exceeded the corresponding period in 2014 by 22 per cent, and for the nine-month period was 9 per cent above the volumes in 2014," said Chairman Christopher Dehring and director/TCL Group CEO JosÈ Luis Seijo Gonzalez in the director's statement attached to the financial results.

REVENUE GROWTH

Revenues grew by close to three-quarters of a billion dollars in the quarter to $4.2 billion, and by just over a billion dollars year to date to $11.76 billion. This performance puts the cement company on track to better the $14 billion of record sales revenue recorded in 2014.

Caribbean Cement also reported a 73 per cent reduction in interest charges for the quarter "as a result of the company's financial restructuring initiative, resulting in some prepayments of long-term debt in excess of $800 million," the directors said.

The debt rescheduling happened under a group-wide programme through which parent company Trinidad Cement Limited restructured its balance sheet to shed debt and boost equity. That programme also doubled Cemex's ownership of TCL, with a stake that is just shy of 40 per cent.

Cemex executive Vares was named general manager of Caribbean Cement in May, replacing Anthony Haynes.

The Rockfort, Kingston-based company remains $4.2 billion in debt, while its equity base has grown to $6.4 billion, compared to $4.8 billion a year ago.

INDIA: Kochi set to emerge as cement hub

With one more cement terminal set to commence operations in November on the port premises here and two more in the pipeline, Kochi is set to emerge as a major cement hub in South India.

Cochin Port Trust sources said that the number of cement terminals at the port would go up to three with Zuari Cement terminal set to commence operations in November. This is in addition to the Ultratech and Ambuja cement terminals in operation now.

Penna Cement has begun construction works and decks have been cleared for the Kerala State-owned Malabar Cements to begin work on its proposed terminal.

All of the terminal, excluding one, would be capable of raising their throughput to one million tonnes over the years, Port Trust sources said.

Malabar Cements has elaborate plans for its terminal, which will also use the facility for clinker imports.

These terminals will not only increase income for the financially-troubled Cochin Port Trust but also generate substantial employment involving evacuation of the cargo out of Kochi to various parts of the State.

For every lakh tonne of cement imported, the Port Trust will earn up to Rs. 1.5 crore per year in both vessel and cargo related charges.

Besides, port sources said, transport requirement for the cargo would be substantial. At roughly about 10 tonnes per lorry, evacuation of three lakh tonnes per year will require 30,000 lorry trips.

Figures show that cement throughput at the Kochi port has grown substantially between 2010-11 and 2014-15. Cement throughput was 2,59,000 tonnes during 2010-11. It has gone up to 7,03,000 tonnes during the last financial year. Cement throughput almost doubled from 3,11,000 tonnes during 2012-13 to 6,04,000 tonnes during 2013-14. But the figures show a slight dip between 2011-12 and 2012-13.

CHINA: Conch Cement's operating profit down 31% for January-September

Operating profit at Anhui Conch Cement, one of China's biggest makers of the building material, fell 31% on the year to 7.05 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in the nine months through September as weak demand and price competition took a toll.

Revenue dropped 13% to 37.9 billion yuan, the Shanghai-listed company reported Tuesday.

Chinese demand for cement has languished following a rush of infrastructure building. Domestic cement production shrank about 5% on the year to roughly 1.7 billion tons during the nine-month period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Foreseeing little growth at home, Conch Cement is trying to strengthen its presence in Indonesia and elsewhere abroad.

TANZANIA: Dangote Cement Consolidates with $600m Tanzania Plant

The recent inauguration of a 3mmta cement plant in Tanzania by Dangote Cement Plc will boost the company’s bottom line and increase returns to shareholders in the near future, writes Goddy Egene

When Dangote Cement Plc (DCP) declared its plan to make a massive expansion across Africa, many investors probably doubted the company. But the expansion programme is not only on track but is also moving faster than many stakeholders had expected.

Early this month, DCP inaugurated the Tanzania Plant, which is a three million metric tonnes of cement per annum (3mtpa) plant located in Mtwara, Southern Tanzania.

The Tanzania plant is the seventh integrated plant outside Nigeria and it followed that of Zambia that was inaugurated by Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo.

The plan of DCP is to create 16 cement plants across Africa to produce at least 80 million tons of cement and address the infrastructure needs of the continent.

In June, 2015, the company inaugurated its cement plant in Ethiopia, which was followed in August with the inauguration of two cement plants- in Zambia and Cameroon.

And October 10 witnessed the inauguration of Tanzania plant, while the next port of call would be Senegal and South Africa plants before the end of the year.

With the inauguration of the Tanzania plant, the bottom-line of DCP will be enhanced. Already, the half year results of the company had reflected the benefits of the expansion.

Benefits of Tanzania Plant

According to the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the company is currently consolidating its cement businesses across Africa to reap the benefits of scale, adding that its operational offshore cement plants have started to make substantial contributions to our group revenue.

He said the company’s Pan-African drive will aid the cement company’s plan to do a listing in London and Johannesburg in the near future, with an intention to consolidate the cement assets into one company that will have the scale and resources to compete globally.

Speaking at the inauguration of Tanzanian cement plant, Dangote explained the choice of Tanzania for investment, stating that the existing supply gap had been inadequate in meeting local demands, noting the need to boost export supply in the eastern Africa regional bloc.

“The construction sector is a major emergent component of the Tanzanian economy that has been receiving the attention of investors. This makes it an ideal market for cement production. The existing cement manufacturers have historically been unable to satisfy local demand, which has been filled by imports. As essential economy-driven infrastructure continues to be built to improve electricity supply and the transport network, additional demand for cement can be expected,” he said.

Dangote added that the investment will certainly contribute to Tanzania’s on-going story of infrastructure development, job creation, and broad economic development.

“Our strategy is to invest in countries that offer investors attractive returns on investment as well as provide them with an enabling environment to operate. It is our sincere belief that our $600million investment in Tanzania will further speed up infrastructural development and complement the government’s efforts in stimulating economic growth and creating jobs for the people. When in full production, this plant will make Tanzania self-sufficient in cement, with a lot of cement for export to neighbouring countries,” Dangote added.

Presidential Commendations

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari and his Tanzanian counterpart, Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete commended Dangote for the investment, which is the largest private investment so far made in Tanzania.

According to Kikwete, there was no better way of rejuvenating and sustaining a nation’s economy if not through investment sustain which opens the door of for job creation and opportunity for people to express their creative abilities.

He described the 3 mtpa cement plant as the largest cement plant in the Eastern and Central Africa, noting that the investment is a huge one that would have a huge impact as well as bilateral relation between Tanzania and Nigeria.

Kikwete pointed that the timing of the citing of the cement plant was very auspicious, coming at a time when the demand for cement is on the upsurge and increasing both locally and regionally.

The President disclosed that cement price has been on the increase because of the shortages in supply as opposed to increasing demands, saying Dangote Cement is coming to fill the gap.

On his own part, Buhari, who was represented by the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai said Dangote is a key role player in the economic development of Africa and his investment model is in tandem with the unfolding economic policy of his government.

He said Dangote by his investment is teaching Africa nations the need to adopt an economic integration policy which will encourage Africans to invest in their continent rather than waiting endlessly for the elusive foreigners to come and help invest and develop Africa.

Buhari pointed out that Dangote has proved a point that though there could be challenges but there are huge returns for African investment in Africa.

“Others should emulate him and partner the government the onerous task of job creation. As our son, we are proud of Dangote. Nigeria is very proud of him,” Buhari said.

2015 Half Year results and Expansion Impact

DCP had grown its revenue for the half year ended June 30, 2015 by 16 per cent to N242 billion, from N208 billion in 2014. It ended the H1 with profit after tax of N121.8 billion, showing an increase of 28 per cent compared with N95 billon recorded in 2014.

Analysts at Dunn Loren Merrifield (DLM) had said the second quarter‘s revenue exceeded its eight quarters average of N102.15billion, reinforced by improvement in asset turnover.

According to DLM, “the growth in revenue indicates the company‘s drive to grow revenues generated outside of Nigeria and reduce its concentration risk. While it sees good potential in sub-Saharan Africa where infrastructure spending is high, we believe the Ethiopia, Cameroon and Zambia plants will improve sales and enhance competitive advantage.”

It is believed that with the addition of Tanzania and Senegal and South Africa being expected before the end of the year, DCP performance will definitely witness and major boost that will translate into higher returns in the years ahead.

Analysts had noted the company‘s strategy is to enter markets with higher-quality cement produced at lower- cost plants.

“This has enabled the company to build strong shares in key African markets, despite well-established competition. With this in mind, we believe the company will build on these successes in Africa and continue to expand its business across the continent most especially in Cameroon where the government recently banned importation of cement as part of measures to encourage domestic producers,” they said.

Positive Outlook

DLM had said with production capacity already at 40mmtpa following the inauguration of the Zambia and Ethiopia factories, additional 3mmtpa will come on-stream in the remaining half of 2015.

“Hence, the company‘s total capacity will move to 43mmtpa,as a result, we raised our expected sales volume for the year to 17,500 tonnes with an average price of N30,000/tonne, and other African operations accounting for 27.14 per cent of the total volume,” they said.

The analysts expect revenue growth of 35 per cent in FY‘15, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.24 per cent, that is from N528.71billion in 2015 to N869.55billion in 2019, driven largely by expected better regional sales matrix, economies of scale and energy mix strategy initiated by the company resulting to lower energy used/tonne and unit cost of power.

“The operating profitability or EBITDA of DCP remains strong as it currently trade above the minimum break-even EBIDTA/tone of $ 21 - which is the minimum a cement capacity must earn in order to provide for depreciation and interest costs,” they said.