Cement News tagged under: coronavirus

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Preparing for a financial crisis

30 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Dr Michael Clark looks at how the global health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected develop into a financial crisis, and the potential impacts of this for the cement industry. By looking back over the past 30 years, we can see the effects the Asian financial crisis and the global financial crisis had on the sector. With this in mind, what can we expect in the near future? The Asian financial crisis originated in Thailand and was fuelled by credit extensions made to suppo...

Cemex cancels El Musel project due to COVID-19

30 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Cemex is cancelling its terminal project that would see the company import 150,000tpa of cement via the Ingeniero Olano dock in El Musel, Gijón, Spain. In February 2019 Cemex applied for a concession at the Olano quay to unload cement to build two storage silos and a bagging plant, representing an investment of approximately EUR5m. Forecasts at the time expected 50,000t of cement to be imported in the first year to 150,000t from the sixth year. The concession was granted after 10 months. ...

Indian cement demand recovers after lockdown

26 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Following the lifting of the coronavirus lockdown in several Indian states, the country’s cement industry is witnessing some pick-up in demand, according to Livemint. Research into the cement dealers’ channel by various brokers has shown that pent-up demand is supporting capacity utilisation levels with rural areas expected to provide a further rise in sales going forward. “Rural and pent-up demand has led to higher-than-expected volumes in May-June 2020 and the industry could just suffe...

Titan posts rise in 5M EBITDA

26 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Titan Group reported a drop in consolidated revenue by 2.1 per cent to EUR641.8m in the January-May 2020 period, following a 6.1 per cent growth in the 1Q20 and a subsequent slowdown in April and May during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. However, EBITDA rose by 5.5 per cent to EUR97.3m thanks to a reduction in costs, mainly due to lower fuel costs. Titan's net profit after taxes and minorities was down 9.1 per cent YoY to EUR3.5m. With construction considered an essential activity ...

Vicat sees improved activity in May

24 June 2020, Published under Cement News

France-based cement producer Vicat has provided an update of business levels in May, noting a marked improvement when compared with market performance in March and April. In France business activity has been improving steadily since the low point of mid-March and by the end of May, the level was slightly lower than that recorded in the year-ago period. Switzerland also continues to perform well. The challenging macroeconomic and competitive environment in Turkey and Egypt continue to aff...

INSEE ramping up output at Galle plant

18 June 2020, Published under Cement News

INSEE Cement will be ramping up production at its Galle cement plant to support the local economy’s fast recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said in a statement that over the years, local cement manufacturers have contributed immensely in enriching the national economy through value additions that support the employment opportunities, up-skilling of local construction professionals through continuous training and education provided across all levels of stakeholders along with ...

Ghana’s cement producers not benefitting from power relief

18 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Following Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo’s announcement of the introduction of a relief on electricity to support individuals and businesses, cement producers and steel companies located within the Tema Free Zone enclave say they have been denied such government support, considerably affecting their business. The affected parties, including CIMAF Ghana Ltd, have only received a rebate of 22 per cent of April invoice values, instead of 50 per cent. Speaking to the media, Rev Dr George Dawson...

Paraguay’s INC ensures cement supply for public works

17 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Paraguay’s Industria Nacional de Cemento (INC) is guaranteeing the supply of cement to public works during the COVID-19 health emergency, reports the official news agency, Agencia de Información Paraguaya (AIP). In March and April 2020 it sold 1,392,612 bags of cement, with a daily production of 50,000 bags, or around 2500tpd. At present, the company is on track to supply the market with 0.6Mta. INC head, Ernesto Benítez, told AIP that the company plans to ensure the requirement of public ...

Federal Budget FY21 impacts positively on the cement industry in Pakistan

15 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Hammad Azhar, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Industries and Production, on June 12 unveiled a tax-free federal budget for FY20-21 in Parliament with a total outlay of PKR7.136trn (US$43.2m), to spur economic recovery following the economy's contraction in the outgoing fiscal year for the first time since 1952, due to COVID-19.   He proposed no increase in salaries of its employees and pensioners, a rise in levies on luxury products, and tax relief for the cement sector, sanitary-ware and lo...

Economic survey reviews Pakistan cement industry for FY19-20

12 June 2020, Published under Cement News

The Pakistan government has released its economic survey for FY19-20 on the eve of the Federal Budget FY20-21. The survey reviews government incentives for the cement industry, accounts of dispatches, export and mining lease issues.   The government has labelled the construction and cement industry a significant source of growth and investment in the future. It has already introduced an incentive package for the construction industry in April 2020, anticipating to help increase local cement ...