Spain: The Cemex plant in Morata de Jalón, Zaragoza, has won €2.8m in aid from the Spanish Ministry of Industry's first Perte resolution for industrial decarbonisation. This funding, part of a larger €96m aid package, will support the plant's clinker production process and its transition to using sustainable fuels.

The aid will increase the use of alternative fuels in clinker production by incorporating waste-derived and biomass fuels.

Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan's limestone output reached 0.92Mt in the first quarter of 2024, representing a 50% year-on-year increase, according to the Statistics Agency. The country's construction materials sector also saw a rise in exports, to US$153m.

The government has ambitious targets for 2024, aiming to produce construction materials valued at US$3bn and a focus on local production, the country aims to become self-sufficient and reduce reliance on imports. The country aims to boost exports to US$1.1bn in 2024.

Canada/US: Béton Provincial has concluded a transaction with CRH Canada Group to acquire several assets located in Quebec, Newfoundland, Labrador and New York.

President of Béton Provincial André Bélanger said "This significant milestone highlights the journey undertaken by Béton Provincial since its foundation in Quebec in 1960. We are very proud to see that a 100% Canadian-owned company is now making its mark alongside the major multinational players in its industry.”

India: Heidelberg Cement India recorded a 38% year-on-year increase in net profit, reaching US$5.7m for the quarter ended 31 March 2024, up from US$4.1m. The company's net revenue fell slightly by 1% year-on-year to US$71.5m from US$72.3m. Operating expenses decreased by 5% to US$61m, contributing to a 29% year-on-year growth in operating profit to US$10.7m. Interest expenses and taxation also rose by 31% and 29%, reaching US$967,000 and US$2m respectively.

Belgium: The Alliance for Low-Carbon Cement & Concrete (ALCCC) has marked its first anniversary with a new policy roadmap aimed at achieving net zero emissions by 2040. Initiated in May 2023, the alliance brings together environmental NGOs and industry stakeholders to transform the cement and concrete sectors. The ALCCC has grown significantly, now comprising 25 members.

Senior programme manager Joren Verschaeve from ECOS, the coordinator of ALCCC, said "Our members show that the technologies needed to make low-carbon cement and concrete the norm already exist. This uniquely positions our Alliance to raise the alarm when policies and standards lead to unfair competition instead of a greener future – and the latter is perfectly achievable if policymakers implement our roadmap."

Ukraine: Companies belonging to the Ukrcement association increased their cement production by 46% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, producing 1.48Mt, according to the Ukrcement press service. This nearly matches the pre-war production levels of early 2021, which saw 1.56Mt of cement produced. However, clinker production fell by 9% to 878,500t during the same period.

Algeria: Algeria has initiated the export of 46,000t of cement to the US, overseen by Trade Minister Tayeb Zitouni at the port of Annaba.

Minister Tayeb Zitouni said “This operation is part of our ongoing efforts to develop and diversify Algerian exports to foreign markets. This demonstrates the government's commitment to increasing and diversifying our exports. We are also committed to supporting export businesses and streamlining administrative procedures to promote sector growth.”

Cemex announced last week that it will stop producing clinker at its Lloseta plant in Mallorca. Grinding activity at the site will continue, along with the shipment of bagged and bulk cement products. The company has framed the closure as part of its decarbonisation plans. The dismantling of the two preheater towers at the plant is scheduled to take place by the end of 2030. Cemex said that it will take this long to allow the cement plant to continue operating, as well as a neighbouring hydrogen unit and other nearby industrial units. The status of the Lloseta plant has been in question before. It was closed in early 2019 due to reduced cement demand and mounting European CO₂ emissions regulations. However, it reopened in 2021.

Readers may recall that Cemex España participated in the Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca project. Land by the Lloseta cement plant was used to hold solar panels and a solar-powered hydrogen unit. Other partners in the project included energy suppliers Enagás and Redexis and renewable power and infrastructure company Acciona, among others. When the unit was commissioned in early 2022, it said it was the first solar power-to-green hydrogen plant in Spain. The link between Cemex and hydrogen is noteworthy given the cement company’s adoption of hydrogen injection as part of its alternative fuels strategy. Interestingly, Acciona planned to use a blockchain method to certify that hydrogen produced at the site was made using renewable energy sources. Heidelberg Materials also plans to use the same process to verify its evoZero brand of net-zero cement products in 2025. Another recent sustainability sector news story in Spain is the commissioning by Çimsa of a 7.2MW solar plant supporting its Buñol white cement plant in Valencia. The new installation is expected to supply about 18% of the plant’s energy needs.

On the corporate side of things, FCC revealed in mid-May 2024 that it was preparing to spin-off its cement and real estate subsidiaries into a new company called Inmocemento. The cement part of this is Spain-based Cementos Portland Valderrivas. The move is intended to bolster the values of the different parts of the business. The proposal will be put to FCC’s shareholders in late June 2024, with any resulting action taking place by the end of the year. The decision to separate FCC’s cement assets is reminiscent of the financial engineering Holcim has proposed with its US business. However, in this case the driver does not appear to be the disparity between the European and US stock markets.

Graph 1: Domestic consumption and exports of cement in Spain, 2013 - 2023. Source: Oficemen.

Market data was also out this week from Oficemen, the Spanish cement association. Domestic cement consumption grew year-on-year in April 2024 but the year so far is looking weaker with consumption from January to April 2024 down by 4.5% year-on-year to 4.65Mt. This is below Oficemen’s forecast for 2024 where it expected a stagnant situation. However, there are eight more months to go. In 2023 cement consumption fell by 3% to 14.5Mt and exports declined by 7.5% to 5.2Mt. The association blamed continued underinvestment in both the public and private sectors due to economic instability since the Covid-19 pandemic. Graph 1 above shows the wider situation in the Spanish cement market over the last decade. The share of exports has declined and local consumption rebounded after 2020 but has declined since then.

These news stories provide a snapshot of what’s been happening in Spain recently in the cement sector. Oficemen’s prediction for 2024 is gloomy but local consumption has risen over the past 10 years. Exports have fallen but the cement association has started to spin the country’s decarbonsiation drive as a potential positive for the industry’s competitiveness generally. It’s hard to discern right now but there might be an advantage for an export-focused country that conforms to European standards in the future if it can hold onto its capacity. Admittedly, that’s a big if. This thinking along sustainability lines could be seen earlier in May 2024 when Cementos Molins Group rebranded itself as Molins. It described the rebranding as a bid to represent the wider range of construction products it manufactures and sells beyond cement. Oficemen has also pointed out that the local market has room for development given the relatively low cement consumption per capita in Spain compared to its peers. So, whatever happens next, there is likely to be room for improvement in the cement market.

Nigeria: BUA Cement has appointed Chikezie Ajaero as its acting chief financial officer. He succeeds Jacques Piekarski in the post, who resigned at the end of April 2024.

Ajaero is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and has over 25 years of experience in financial reporting and control. He also holds a masters of business administration from the University of Lagos. He previously worked as the finance director for the company’s Obu cement plant since 2020.

UAE: Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments has offered to acquire a new 32% stake in RAK White Cement. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments previously announced its acquisition of a 29% stake in RAK White Cement on 15 April 2024.