Uzbekistan: United Cement Group subsidiary Qizilqumsement says that it has awarded contracts for the upgrade of Lines 1 and 2 at its Qizilqum cement plant in Navoiy Region. Uzbekistan Newsline has reported that the producer has completed testing to ascertain the lines' parameters of operation, fuel and energy consumption and output. This will inform its decisions, with a view to reducing the cost of clinker production.

Qizilqumsement is currently in the process of building the Qizilqum plant's new 767,000t/yr Line 4, which will also increase its clinker capacity by 657,000t/yr. The producer expects this to lower the cost of its clinker production by 30%.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded consolidated sales of US$1.18bn during the first quarter of 2023, corresponding to year-on-year growth of 18%. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 85% to US$158m. Cement sales volumes fell in Brazil and Bolivia, but rose in Spain. The producer noted 'pressure' from high raw materials, freight and fuel costs in Brazil.

CEO Osvaldo Ayres Filho said "Price management implemented globally to face cost inflation contributed to the positive results in the quarter, despite the still volatile and uncertain scenario in the global economy. The company remains firm and aligned with its strategic plan, financially solid and prepared for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead."

Colombia: Cementos Argos sold 3.9Mt of cement during the first quarter of 2023, down by 0.6% year-on-year. This contributed to a 12% rise in its consolidated revenues to US$721m. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 42% to US$127m.

President Juan Esteban Calle said "In the first quarter of the year we experienced a stable market dynamic in most of the territories in which we are present, sequential improvements in costs, especially in fuels, energy and, in some cases, raw materials and mixed macroeconomic signals that keep us optimistic about medium-term trends." He added "Beyond the constant challenging conditions, we continue to take forceful steps toward our goal of creating value for the company, our investors, customers and other stakeholders."

Canada: Lafarge Canada has renewed its partnership with fuel logistics company 4Refuel to launch renewable diesel use in its operations in Manitoba. The producer says that trucks will run on renewable diesel produced from waste oils and fats. This will eliminate 39% of the producer's Scope 3 CO₂ emissions in the province.

Lafarge Canada's vice president Manitoba and Saskatchewan Tina Larson said "Switching to renewable diesel is a significant step forward in our sustainability journey. We recognise that climate change is one of the most significant challenges facing our planet, and we are committed to doing our part to reduce our impact on the environment. We believe that renewable diesel is an excellent solution to help us achieve our sustainability goals while maintaining the high level of performance that our customers expect.”

Lafarge Canada previously implemented renewable diesel in its operations in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, in November 2022.

India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) plans to invest US$560m following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Assam government on the construction of a new cement plant in the state. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the producer expects the project to generate a total of 2500 new jobs.

Managing director and chief executive officer Mahendra Singhi said “This year also marks the 10th anniversary of Dalmia Bharat’s manufacturing presence in Northeast India. We remain deeply committed to continuing to be a partner in the region’s economic progress." He continued "The Northeast region has showcased a very forward-leaning mindset, being one of the fastest adaptors of low-carbon blended cement. The penetration of Low Carbon Green Cement is in line with our vision of becoming carbon negative by 2040, and further intensifies our commitment towards the Grey to Green movement.”

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement's consolidated sales rose by 14% year-on-year to US$6.02bn for its 2023 financial year, which ended on 31 March 2023. Its cement volumes fell by 1.5% to 37.3Mt. It said that current high costs of labour and building materials generally reduced cement demand in its local market. It reported a net loss of US$247m, up by 15% from US$215m. Nikkei News has reported that the company has forecast a US$297m profit in the 2024 financial year.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement's consolidated sales rose by 11% year-on-year to US$1.52bn in the 2023 financial year from US$1.37bn in the previous financial year. Despite this growth, the group recorded a loss of US$42.5m, compared to a net profit of US$71.8m in the previous financial year.

South Korea: The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) has launched a probe into imported white cement from Egypt. The commission will investigate the possible necessity of anti-dumping duties on imports of the product. Yonhap English News has reported that the KTC is responding to a complaint from domestic white cement producer Union Corporation. The producer accuses International Cement Trading and Egypt-based Royal El Minya Cement of damaging its business through cement dumping. The KTC will complete its preliminary investigation before 1 September 2023.

Eagle Materials announced this week that it had completed the acquisition of Martin Marietta’s cement import business in the north of California. A key part of the deal includes the sale of a cement terminal at Stockton. No value for the transaction has been disclosed.

The agreement prompts discussion for two immediate reasons. Firstly, it continues the enlargement of Eagle Materials’ cement business with its second terminal in California. The company operates its cement business in a band running almost right across the US. It runs seven cement plants in seven different states and jointly operates, with Heidelberg Materials, a plant in Texas too. It also runs a network of 25 cement terminals, including the new acquisition, stretching from California in the west to Pennsylvania in the east.

Eagle Materials’ focus on the cement sector also harks back to its previous plans to separate its various businesses. In 2019 it approved a plan to split its heavy materials and light materials businesses into two publicly-traded entities. The decision was made in response to pressure by shareholder Sachem Head Capital Management to make the company, in its view, more valuable. A strategic portfolio review followed but the planned separation was subsequently delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and poor market conditions, amongst other reasons. The board of the company then cancelled the proposed separation in 2021 citing the financial benefits of a diversified business, opportunities for strategic growth and the divestment of its oil and gas proppants business.

The other talking point is that the Eagle Materials transaction follows a positive response by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to the abandonment of CalPortland’s attempt to buy the Tehachapi cement plant in southern California and two related terminals from Martin Marietta. CalPortland’s parent company Taiheiyo Cement said in late April 2023 that it had terminated the acquisition agreement originally announced in mid-2022 due to its inability to obtain approval from the FTC in a timely manner. Whilst the FTC did not say if it had directly tried to block the proposed deal it did say, “The abandonment is a victory for consumers and preserves competition for a key component of Southern California’s construction and infrastructure industries.”

The FTC argued that the transaction would have reduced the number of cement suppliers in Southern California from five to four, further concentrating an already concentrated market, and was “presumptively illegal.” It noted that the Tehachapi plant was only about 20km away from CalPortland’s Mojave cement plant. It went on to say that, if the deal had gone ahead, CalPortland was poised to own half of the cement plants serving the Southern California market. It added that it would have been well-placed to raise its prices and that, “the transaction would have also increased the likelihood for coordinated action between the remaining competitors in this concentrated market.”

The de-facto block by the FTC of the Tehachapi sale now opens up the question of who Martin Marietta might try to sell it to next. Cemex, Mitsubishi Cement and National Cement (Vicat) are the obvious contenders given that they each also run integrated plants in the state. Of course another company, especially one with some form of existing distribution network, may express interest. Given its enlarged presence in Northern California, Eagle Materials springs to mind. Other potential buyers are, of course, available.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has appointed Osvaldo Ayres Filho as its global chief executive officer (CEO). He succeeds Marcelo Castelli in the post, who is becoming a member of the board of directors.

Ayres Filho holds over 25 years of professional experience working for companies such as Avon, Fibria and Ciba Chemicals. He joined Votorantim Cimentos in 2012 and has held the positions of financial director for the Europe, Asia and Africa region, operations director for the Southeast region in Brazil, financial director for the Brazilian business and global chief financial officer and Investor Relations Officer, with additional responsibility for the areas of strategy, information technology, mergers and acquisitions and global procurement. He became the company’s chief operations officer in 2021 with responsibility for cement, logistics and adjacent businesses. Ayres Filho holds a degree in business administration from Mackenzie Presbyterian University and a postgraduate degree in administration from the Getulio Vargas Foundation.