04 November 2021

Germany: HeidelbergCement recorded consolidated sales of Euro14bn in the first nine months of 2021, up by 7% year-on-year from Euro13.1bn in the corresponding period of 2020. Revenues rose in all regions, except for North America, where they fell by 0.1% to Euro3.51bn. The company’s cement sales were 95.7Mt, up by 6% from 90.1Mt, while its ready-mixed concrete sales were 35.7Mm3, up by 4% from 34.4Mm3. Cement sales grew across every region, and recorded the sharpest increase in Western and Southern Europe, of 11% to 23Mt from 20.7Mt.

The group said that ‘significant’ energy cost inflation impacted upon results in the period. It launched a Euro500m cost mitigation programme and initiated the divestment of some Spanish assets and the acquisition of Tanga Cement in Tanzania.

Germany: Cementos Molins has concluded its acquisition of calcium aluminate cement producer Calucem following all regulatory approvals. Calucem operates the Pula grinding plant in Istria, Croatia and a bauxite quarry in Turkey. The new acquisition positions Cementos Molins as the world's second largest calcium aluminate cement producer. The company said that it expands and enhances its innovative and sustainable product range in line with its sustainable growth strategy.

CEO Julio Rodríguez said “I warmly welcome the Calucem team into the Cementos Molins family. Today marks a new and exciting milestone in the history of Calucem and Cementos Molins and, with this integration, we have excellent business development opportunities for a new step forward to our strategy of profitable and sustainable growth.”

Calucem CEO Yuri Bouwhuis said “We are excited about the integration into Cementos Molins, where we will accelerate our development and create together more value for all our stakeholders.”

Uzbekistan: The government has extended its suspension of tariffs on imports of cement until 1 November 2021. Business World Magazine News has reported that the policy aims to reduce the cost of housing. In order to support the domestic cement industry, producers’ tax rate will be reduced to 15% from 20%. The government will also halve taxes on natural resources.

India: The government of Kerala plans to increase its cement production in order to help lower the price of cement in the state. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the state owns 10% of its cement industry. It plans for state-owned Travancore Cements to increase grey cement, white cement and wall putty production at its Nattakom grinding plant in Moolavattom. Its other cement company, Malabar Cement, previously increased its cement production.

The state government also convened a meeting of private sector cement producers in order to discuss the possibility of a reduction in the price of cement.

US: Charah Solutions has signed a contract with Associated Electric Cooperative (AECI) to receive bottom ash, fly ash and boiler slag from its Thomas Hill Energy Center coal-fired power plant in Missouri until 2026. Charah Solutions will recycle the by-products to produce supplementary cementitious products and redistribute these through its MultiSource materials network. The network consists of 40 locations across the US.

President and CEO Scott Sewell said "We are delighted to partner with AECI to manage their ash marketing needs at Thomas Hill while supplying our concrete producers with the high-quality material they need."