02 May 2024

Malaysia: Heidelberg Materials has announced its acquisition of ACE Group, a supplier of pulverised fly ash, effective 1 May 2024. Reusing fly ash from energy generation contributes to reducing the CO₂ intensity of composite cement. When used as an additive, fly ash can replace part of the energy-intensive clinker and thus reduce the CO₂ intensity of the cement.

The acquisition includes ACE Greencemt Venture, ASAS Asia and AGP Logistics, with the leadership team from ACE Group continuing to manage the operations post-acquisition. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction.

India: Nuvoco Vistas has announced its audited financial results for the year ended 31 March 2024. The producer recorded earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation of US$199m, representing a year-on-year increase of 35%, and profit after tax of US$17.6m. Its net debt fell by US$46m year-on-year to US$482m. Cement sales volumes totalled 18.8Mt and revenue from operations reached US$1.3bn.

Philippines: Phinma Corp is set to expand its cement business with new facilities in Mindanao, according to a spokesperson for the company. The producer will establish a cement plant in Davao, valued at US$34.7m, which will bring the company’s total capacity to 5Mt/yr once completed. The plant is currently awaiting its environmental clearance certificate.

Additionally, the Petra plant in Zamboanga del Norte has started operations, with a cement grinding capacity of 500,000t/yr.

India: Ambuja Cements has reported a rise in revenue from operations from US$954m to US$1.07bn in the financial year ending 31 March 2024, representing a 12% year-on-year increase. Profit before tax grew by 22% to US$166m. The company recorded a loss of US$13.7m. Sales volume of cement and clinker increased by 18% year-on-year to 16.6Mt. Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation increased by 37% to US$203m.

Türkiye/Georgia: Türkiye's exports of cement products to Georgia have increased by 7% year-on-year to US$17m from January to March 2024, according to its Trade Ministry. In March 2024, exports to Georgia reached US$7.6m, representing a 4% year-on-year increase.

However, Türkiye's global cement exports from January to March 2024 fell by 7% to US$1.1bn compared to the same period in 2023. In March 2024, exports were down by 11% year-on-year to US$390m. From March 2023 to March 2024, Türkiye exported cement products worth US$4.5bn.