Cement News tagged under: COVID-19

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Petcoke markets and the cement industry

11 September 2020, Published under Cement News

Conventional fossil fuels account for around 80 per cent of fuels used in cement kilns worldwide, of which petcoke accounts for a 40-45 per cent share. Ahead of the Argus Petcoke Live virtual conference, we share some insights into the petcoke and refining market alongside views from the cement industry and the positive steps it is taking on environmental initiatives. Interview with Steve Weber, VP of Americas Consulting, Argus How has the refining sector been hit by COVID-19 and oil pri...

Gypsum availability and dollar prices impact Dangote Zambia's production costs

09 September 2020, Published under Cement News

Dangote Cement Zambia Ltd (DCZL) says the closure of Chambeshi Metals has deprived the company gypsum for cement manufacture. DCZL CFO, Bright Tembo, also said the depreciation of the kwacha has impacted on costs of imported materials. "The closure of Chambeshi Metals has deprived DCZL of a reasonably priced Gypsum…We have local suppliers who are quoting in dollars and demanding payment in dollars. The depreciation of the kwacha has severely impacted on our costs of imported raw materials,"...

Cemex reaffirms commitment to improving air quality

09 September 2020, Published under Cement News

Following up on the celebration of the United Nations "International Day of Clean Air for blue skies" Cemex has reaffirmed its commitment to the goal of improving air quality in cities and surrounding areas. Cemex has invested over US$280m since 2013 in technology to measure, control, and mitigate the gas and particle emissions in its operations. Through this continuous investment, the company has introduced international standards consistent with the world's strictest emissions regulation...

Spain: drivers for development

02 September 2020, Published under Cement News

In 2019 Spanish cement consumption registered its third consecutive year of recovery but the impact of COVID-19 has now brought fresh uncertainty. Despite the demand situation, Spanish cement association, Oficemen, discusses how the domestic sector continues to evolve and is finding ways to lay the groundwork for future development. By Oficemen, Spain. Despite the impact of COVID-19 on the Spanish cement industry, the sector is focussed on its future, supported by a drive to includ...

Ghana sees 4% drop in sales in 1Q20

01 September 2020, Published under Cement News

Total cement sales in Ghana have fallen 3.9 per cent YoY in the first quarter of 2020. The 1Q volume in 2020 reached 814,979t, when compared with 848,259t in the 1Q19. The drop in cement sales has been attributed by the Bank of Ghana due to a slowdown in construction activity due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cement prices in Ghana have been affected by the sharp fluctuations int he Ghanaian cedi in comparison with the US dollar.

CRH revenues expected to recover in 3Q20

28 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Following the release of CRH's 2020 interim results last Friday, ICR now takes a deeper look at what the underlying trends have been for the company's trading performance during this challenging period. First-half sales for the group were five per cent behind, with like-for-like (LfL) sales three per cent behind the 1H20, as a positive performance in the first quarter was followed by significant disruption in the second quarter. EBITDA of US$1.59bn down when compared with 2019 (1H19: US$1.6...

FLSmidth's revenue guidance for 2020 is DKK15.5-17bn

28 August 2020, Published under Cement News

FLSmidth's revenue in 2020 is forecast to be DKK15.5bn-17bn (US$2.48bn-2.72bn), says the company. EBITA margin is expected to be 4.5-6 per cent, which takes into account around DKK210m of implementation costs related to business improvement activities. On 23 March FLSmidth's financial guidance for 2020 was suspended due to the global uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. On 28 April the company announced that full-year results were expected to be below the initial guidance. Visibilit...

Bangladesh producers seek advanced income tax refund of BDT7500m

28 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Bangladeshi cement manufacturers have requested that the National Board of Revenue makes payment of BDT7500m (US$88,47m) as a refundable advanced income tax to help them recover some of their losses from the coronavirus pandemic. Previous attempts to seek similar demands in the national budget were turned down. "We need a fresh injection of capital to recover the losses incurred due to pandemic. We have fallen in capital shortage as well. So, the government should refund our adjustable fund...

JSW Group to merge its distribution and supply chain segments

26 August 2020, Published under Cement News

India’s JSW Group has announced plans to merge the distribution and supply chain operations of its steel, cement and paint businesses in India for better synergies and to save costs, according to the Times of India. The group has already combined the distribution operations of the three segments in east India and will roll out the initiative across the rest of the country in the coming months. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, JSW Group has already been reducing costs by cutting ca...

Adelaide Brighton returns to profit in the 1H20

26 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Australia’s Adelaide Brighton has posted a net profit after tax of AUD29.1m (US$20.95m) in the first half of 2020, compared with a net loss of AUD17.9m in the year-ago period. The company’s revenue declined seven per cent YoY to AUD700.7m. The company has reported that COVID-19 left operations largely uninterrupted, while the mining sector and the company’s increased exposure to the infrastructure market supported sales. However, overall cement sales decreased six per cent, although vol...