Cement News tagged under: COVID-19

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Bracing for an uncertain future

25 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Despite being a general election year, Indian cement demand growth unexpectedly stagnated for most of 2019. Furthermore, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis further restricted demand in the opening quarters of 2020. Going forward, considerable uncertainty remains and hope rests on an economic recovery led by a large-scale stimulus package. The decline in investment proposals and project announcements in India’s infrastructure sector suggest a sluggish demand environment due to the coronavi...

Anhui Conch's 1H20 profit rises 5.3%

24 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Anhui Conch Cement's net profit rose in the 1H20, on the back of a resumption of construction projects in Asia and higher sales in western China. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cement sales volumes fell across the regions the company operates in, except for west China. The cement company's net profit increased by 5.3 per cent to CNY16.09bn (US$2.33bn) during the period, the company reported. First-half operating revenue rose 3.3 per cent to CNY74.01bn. The company said it will se...

PCA's US cement consumption regional forecast review

21 August 2020, Published under Cement News

This week ICR looks at the regional briefings that the Portland Cement Association (PCA) has given for the economic and cement demand outlook in the USA, following COVID-19. Western region Brian Schmidt, PCA Regional Economist for the western USA, reported that both the Rocky Mountain (RM) and Pacific divisions have been hit hard by a fall in construction work. April cement consumption for Washington was down over 40 per cent, after Governor Jay Inslee announced in March that construction...

Votorantim Cimentos 2Q20 cement sales edge up

17 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Votorantim Cimentos released its results for the 2Q20, announcing that the company’s cement sales volumes reached 7.5Mt, up 0.3 per cent on the 7.4Mt sold in the 2Q19. Net revenues reached BRL3876 (US$717.21m), up 18 per cent on the 2Q19 when it totalled BRL3298m. EBITDA amounted to BRL735m up from BRL491m in the 2Q19. Consolidated net revenues totalled BRL3.9bn in the 2Q20, an 18 per cent increase when compared to the same period of 2019, mainly explained by better volumes and prices in Vo...

Bangladesh's cement sector sees signs of recovery in demand

17 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Premier Cement of Bangladesh has reported that the cement sector has been showing some signs of recovery for the last two months, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The sector had been reeling from the unprecedented collapse in demand in April and May because of the pandemic, which hammered activity and brought the construction sector to a grinding halt. However, activity has begun to pick up and are now back almost to the pre-pandemic level in June and July. "The economic front of a develo...

Namibia’s cement sales affected by COVID-19

17 August 2020, Published under Cement News

The lack of economic activity due to the coronavirus pandemic has affected cement sales by Ohorongo Cement, said Frankleen Alberts, the company’s customer relations and public affairs manager. “Cement sales have been affected since the outbreak of the virus. We were able to continue supplying our Namibian market without major interruptions while adhering to the regulations under the state of emergency. However, due to the restrictions and quarantine rules by neighbouring countries, our exp...

Cement demand falls for SCG

14 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Siam Cement PCL reported a profit of THB9384m (US$301.6m) in the 2Q20, or a 35 per cent rise in earnings QoQ and 33 per cent YoY, bolstered by its chemical business performance. Company EBITDA from operations increased by 17 per cent QoQ and 23 per cent YoY to THB17,774m, while revenue from sales fell by nine per cent QoQ (-12 per cent YoY) to THB96,010m with decreases in all core businesses. Thailand's domestic cement market saw grey cement demand increase by four per cent YoY in the 2Q20....

Pakistan cement production witnessed a mixed trend in FY19-20

13 August 2020, Published under Cement News

The output of Pakistan's large-scale manufacturing industries (LSMIs) declined by 10.2 per cent in the previous fiscal year, FY19-20, compared to FY18-19, as almost all of the major manufacturing sectors posted negative growth, according to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). According to provisional quantum index numbers of large-scale manufacturing industries (QIM), the LSMI output declined by 7.7 per cent in June 2020, compared to June 2019, and increased by 16.8...

Loma Negra sees 30% decline in revenue for 2Q20

12 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Argentina’s Loma Negra has announced a 30.1 per cent YoY decline in net revenue to ARS7453m (US$104m) in the second quarter of 2020. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was also down 24.6 per cent to ARS2077m, while the margin climbed from 25.8 to 27.9 per cent. "Cement demand in Argentina in the second quarter contracted around 32 per cent YoY and around four per cent when compared sequentially with the previous quarter. Taking a closer look on the behaviour of our demand, we observed that the in...

Arkan Building Materials sees profits decline to AED2.1m in 1H20

11 August 2020, Published under Cement News

Arkan Building Materials reported 1H20 profits declining to AED2.1m (US$571,818) as construction activity became disrupted in UAE due to the pandemic. Last year the company reported profits in 1H19 of AED 33.7m, boosted by the sale of Emirates Cement Factory. Revenue this year has reached AED387.4m, down from AED458.8m last year. Cement revenues fell to AED196.5m from AED282.7m last year, while cement-led profit amounted to AED7.91m, down from AED45.69m. Concrete block and dry mortar revenu...