Cement News tagged under: cement prices

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Cement price hike to hit Modi’s affordable housing?

24 April 2017, Published under Cement News

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 'Housing for All’ scheme could be impacted by the steep hike in cement prices, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) argues. According to a report in the Times of India, cement prices have risen from INR250/50kg bag to INR300/bag in the past two months. Developers in Kolkata have also reportedly been informed that the price will be hiked further to INR350 before June. If this is the case, it will raise construction c...

DR Congo: cement price in Boma up 53%

04 April 2017, Published under Cement News

The price of a bag of 50kg of grey cement in Boma, Democratic Republic of Congo, has jumped from CDF7500 (US$5.51) in February to CDF11,500 at the start of April. The price increase has led several construction sites in the port city suspending work. The hike has been attributed to the deterioration of the national currency compared to the US dollar.

Germany: Karsdorfer and Sötenich plants for sale

02 March 2017, Published under Cement News

CRH confirmed with its annual 2016 results, that it will sell a large portion of its German cement assets, as part of a wider EUR400m divestment programme. The company has agreed to sell the Karsdorfer integrated cement plant (2.3Mta) and Sötenich grinding plant (0.45Mta), to an unnamed purchaser, subject to approval by the German Competition Authority (Bundeskartellamt). CRH is expected to retain its third plant at Wössingen. It is possible that an existing German cement producer would...

USA: Summit cement profits rise 45% on back of higher volumes and prices

24 February 2017, Published under Cement News

In a trading statement for 2016, Summit Materials has announced that profits at its cement business rose by 45.1 per cent YoY, with volumes rising by 37 per cent and prices increasing by 7.5 per cent. Summit’s cement segment produced revenues of US$250m in 2016, with profits reaching US$127m in the same period. The business produced 2.14Mt of cement over the year, of which 0.6Mt was produced in the 4Q16. Summit’s profitability was improved by the rising price of cement. In 2015 its ave...

Rising cement prices signal economic growth in China

24 January 2017, Published under Cement News

Rising cement prices were providing a clear signal that China's economic growth will remain stable for the year ahead, said Mo Ji, chief economist for Asia ex-Japan at Amundi in an interview with CNBC. Cement offers a more accurate gauge of China's economic activity given its short shelf life. "It can only be stored one month. If there is no on-the-ground activity, how can the cement prices go up? It's really demand," she said, adding that meant infrastructure and other construction was ...

India: falling demand and rising petcoke prices threaten profits

08 December 2016, Published under Cement News

The Economic Times reports that petcoke prices – which have risen by over 36 per cent since the start of the year – are likely to put a squeeze on cement company profits. This comes on top of the disastrous impact that the withdrawal of higher denomination rupee notes has had on the economy. The Reserve Bank of India’s failure to provide enough new-style notes has had a profound and negative effect in a country where 98 per cent of all transactions are carried out via cash. An analyst ...

Taiwan Cement plans to increase exports to China

08 December 2016, Published under Cement News

The Taiwan Cement Corporation has said that it expects to ship 1.1Mt of cement to China in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of two per cent on its performance in 1Q16, the Taipei Times reports. In an earnings statement covering the first nine months of 2016, Taiwan Cement saw its profit increase by 13.7 per cent to TWD4.5bn (US$141m), driven by rising prices and a fall in the cost of coal. The company’s exports to China reached 3.9Mt in the first three quarters of 2016, up 10 per...

India: marking time

28 November 2016, Published under Cement News

While the monsoon has been kind to India this summer and is likely to help a recovery in cement demand next year, India’s cement producers are still marking time as they wait for more sustained, double-digit growth reminiscent of better times in the past. Eyes, and hopes, are set on FY17-18. As the Indian private sector has not yet accelerated its spending all eyes are on the government to support the cement industry with an increased public spending programme Despite being o...

India: 32 manufacturers to sell at INR230/bag

25 November 2016, Published under Cement News

Telangana State Housing Corp has signed a MoU with 32 cement manufacturers this week. As per the MoU, the companies will supply cement at a price of INR230/bag (US$3.35/bag) for the next three years to the housing corporation. With cement prices high on the open market, the state government negotiated with the manufacturing companies for reduced rates. Housing Minister Undrakaran Reddy thanked the participating firms for coming forward and supporting the housing scheme. Mr Reddy estimates...

CRH revenues rise to US$22bn on stronger US construction activity

17 November 2016, Published under Cement News

In a trading update covering the first nine months of 2016, CRH announced that its sales revenues had reached EUR20.4bn (US$21.9bn) with improved performances in its European, Asian and American operations. On a pro forma basis, accounting for new revenues generated by acquisitions from LafargeHolcim, sales were six per cent higher in the year to September 2016 than they had been in the same period in 2015. The firm’s EBITDA improved by a greater margin – 14 per cent – reaching EUR2.4bn f...