News

Net consolidated profits of Spanish cement firm Cementos Molins increased by 37.6% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2015 to €41.9 million due to the good trading of its international operations, especially in Mexico and Argentina.

Although the Spanish subsidiary has registered an improvement in results, it is still posting negative net profits, while profits of the international divisions increased by 7.5% to €51 million. At the same time, net consolidated revenues went up by 21.8% to €473 mill

South Africa’s Sephaku Holdings recorded a revenue of ZAR 461.4 million (US$32.4 million) in H1 2015 (April 1 – September 30), up from ZAR 404.2 million ($28.25 million) in the year-ago period. The group attributed the improved revenue to increased output from ready-mixed concrete products at its subsidiary Metier's eleventh plant, which began operations in September 2014. The review period saw Sephaku generate a net profit of ZAR 18.5 million ($1.34 million), up from a loss of ZAR 3.74 million ($262,705) i

Cypriot cement exports increased by 17.6%, to 256,922tonnes, in the first 10 months of this year, while productivity remained almost unchanged, up by just 2.65%, to 613,140 tonnes, compared with the same period of 2014. Domestic sales shrank by 1.3%, to 369,467tonnes, compared with the first 10 months of last year.

Egypt-based Alexandria Portland Cement Company's net loss widened to EGP 116 million (US$ 14.45 million) in the first nine months of 2015 from EGP 67.7mn ($8.36 million) in the first six months of this year. The company registered a profit of EGP 71 million ($8.77 million) in the first nine months of 2014.

Mexican cement sector giant Cemex has confirmed the option of selling assets in US to reduce its debt level, Forbes magazine reports. These operations would not affect projects related to cement or concrete sales, although assets involving aggregates could be considered.

Since 2013, Cemex remains focused on disinvesting US$1 billion-$1.5 billion by selling assets. During the January-September 2015 period, the firm reduced its liabilities by $620 million and expects to reach its target in the short-term.

Turkish cement producer Cimsa’s profit soared by 25% year-on-year to TRY 199 million (€62 million) in the first nine months of 2015, while sales revenue amounted to TRY 865 million (€275.28 million). Cimsa's profit was TRY 70 million (€22.27 million) in the third quarter of 2015. The firm has been active in the sector for more than 40 years.

India-based Reliance Infrastructure is looking to sell its cement and roads businesses by March 2016, to focus on future defence sector opportunities. CEO MS Mehta said due diligence has already started on both units, and the company expects valuations in line with the last few cement industry transactions. The roads business may be sold to a foreign fund that has liquidity and plans long haul investment in India’s infrastructure.

Mehta said Reliance has received 15 preliminary expressions of interest a

Chinese firm Gejuba Group Cement will build a cement plant with a capacity of up to 1 million tonnes/year in the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan. The joint venture Gejuba - Shieli Cement has been established with the Kazakhstan corporation Dan Ake. Construction of the plant will start in February 2016, and as many as 400 jobs will be created by the project.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has announced the 2015 recipients of its grassroots advocacy awards for companies that have reached the highest level of activity in its I Make America campaign. A new Legacy longevity award joins the campaign’s Pillar of the Industry recognition program.

I Make America is AEM’s signature program to build grassroots support and advocate for pro-manufacturing policies that create and sustain jobs across America.

“It’s more important than ever that our el

HeidelbergCement's revenue rose by 3% to €3.61 billion in the third quarter of 2015.

The weakening of the Euro against numerous currencies had a €162m positive effect on the company’s revenue. Operating income before depreciation improved by 8% to €865 million and operating income rose by 8% to €675 million.

Besides the price increases in key core markets and the successful implementation of the margin improvement programmes in the aggregates business line, in particular, the low cost of fuels also

Egypt's Suez Cement, the country's largest listed cement maker by market value, said it made a net loss of US$6.23 million (EGP 50 million) in Q3 2015, compared with a net profit of $6.45 million (EGP 52 million) a year earlier, Reuters reports.

Revenue fell to $146.15 million (EGP 1.177 billion) in the three months ending September 30 from $179.06 million (EGP 1.442 billion), it said.

CW Research has launched its price assessment series for the global cement and clinker market. The Cement and Clinker Price Assessment is based on a continuous dialog with market participants and using a formal methodology, product series offers pricing insights for three regions, covering seven distinct cement and clinker price markers. Additionally, a focused price assessment product will cover the niche oil well cement segment.

“Our interactions with traders, cement producers and other stakeholders in

Ghana-based Western Diamond Cement Company has started cement production in the country’s western region. The company says its high-quality product will give a choice to developers and builders in the construction sector. Although production has begun, the US$55 million cement factory will be fully completed by end-2015. Situated between Kofi Nti and Bokro, work on the cement plant began in August 2012.

Martin Marietta Materials, the US-based heavy construction materials firm, posted US$117.5mn profit in July-September 2015, a marked upturn against a $53.7 million profit the previous year. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company’s revenue in the three-month period stood at $1.08 billion, up 7.9%, while sales in its aggregates business increased from $917.9 million to $1 billion. The revenue and profit growths were boosted by the recently concluded the $420 million sale of Martin Marietta Materials