India: Mahendra Singhi, the head of Dalmia Cement (Bharat), says that the company has past the peak of commodity price inflation. Its income from operations grew by 10% year-on-year to US$1.66bn in the 2023 financial year from US$1.38bn in the 2022 financial year. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 5% to US$283m from US$297m. Its sales volumes of cement increased by 16% to 26Mt from 22Mt.

Mahendra Singhi, the managing director and chief executive officer of Dalmia Cement (Bharat), said “Our persistent efforts, on enhancing sustainability of our operations and rationalisation of our operating costs, have enabled us to mitigate the adverse impact of inflation and deliver stable earnings performance.” He added “With robust demand outlook, steady cement prices and the peak of commodity price inflation behind us, we are expecting profitability to gradually improve from here on.”

Sustainability targets that the group promoted in its fourth quarter results statement included reaching a carbon footprint of 463kgCO₂/t of cement. Its renewable energy capacity increased to 166MW in the 2023 financial year from 100MW.

Australia: Adbri says that the cost of an upgrade at its Kwinana grinding plant is now estimated to be US$255 – 277m following an engineering design, schedule and budget review. The original estimate for the project in December 2020 was US$130m. The cement producer has blamed the increase in cost on mounting construction costs, a labour shortage and supply chain issues. Commissioning for the upgrade remains scheduled for the second quarter of 2024 with full operation forecast for the third quarter.

Adbri’s chief executive officer Mark Irwin said, “While we are disappointed the project cost is materially higher than initially forecasted, we remain confident the Kwinana Upgrade will support solid returns over the long term. The project continues to have a positive net present value. We have used this review period to also strengthen our project delivery team, adding experience and capability.” He added “The consolidation of Adbri’s two existing cement production sites in Western Australia into a single, world class facility at Kwinana positions Adbri to take advantage of continued growth in the local market. We also expect to deliver greater operational savings than originally forecasted.”

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has opened a new terminal in Fortaleza. The 19,000m² unit replaces a previous site in the city in Ceará state. The new terminal location is close to a railway line operated by Ferrovia Transnordestina Logística (FTL) to support logistics. It will supply the northeastern market with cement from the Poty brand and adhesive and mortars from the Votomassa product line. Sustainability features of the new terminal include a recycling system for the water used to wash forklift trucks.

Votorantim Cimentos operates two integrated cement plant in Ceará, at Sobral and Pecém respectively, as well as three terminals.

Ethiopia: Berenta Cement has signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with China-based Sinoma Cement to build a cement plant at Shebele Berenta in Amhara region. The two companies will form a joint venture to work on the unit, according to the Ethiopian News Agency. The regional government will support the initiative. The wider scope of the project also includes plans to supply products and services such as gypsum, gypsum wallboard, glass and glass fibre.

Syria: Abdul Qader Jokhadar, the Minister of Industry, has cited using Iran-based expertise in developing filtration system in cement plants to reduce emissions as an example of how the two countries can cooperate. Jokhadar met with Morteza Shahmirzaei, the director of the General Company for Petrochemical Industries and deputy to the Oil Minister of Iran, to discuss industrial development, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. Other areas of collaboration include manufacturing electric batteries, agricultural machinery, tyres and optical cables.

UK: Aggregate Industries has launched the ECOPlanet product range. The products offer a reduction of at least 30% in the carbon footprint of cement, compared to CEM I ordinary Portland cement, by using second cementitious materials such as fly ash. The launch of the ECOPlanet range is part of the subsidiary of Holcim’s 2030 sustainability strategy, Building Progress for a Sustainable Future.

Dragan Maksimovic, the chief executive officer of Aggregate Industries, said “The launch of ECOPlanet expands on our existing low carbon products including ECOPact, the world’s broadest range of green concrete or Super-Low Carbon, the first asphalt using biogenic material within the bitumen. The product is driven by innovation and by our ambitions to build a net zero future, and we’re delighted once again to be pushing the boundaries of low carbon construction solutions.”

India: More than 75 representatives from academic institutions and businesses from across the world are attending the Innovandi Global Cement and Concrete Research Network (GCCRN) Spring Week taking place in New Delhi. The GCCRN has brought together 450 researchers and scientists from more than 40 universities and institutions, including the EPFL in Switzerland, South East University in China, University of Toronto in Canada, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the University of Cape Town, Imperial College London in the UK, as well as 35 cement and concrete manufacturers and their suppliers. The focus of the conference is to work towards reaching net-zero CO₂ concrete production, including sourcing and improving alternatives to clinker, work on calcined clays, concrete recycling – plus its carbonation and durability - as well as kiln electrification and carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS).

Claude Loréa, the Innovation and ESG Director at the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), said “Global Innovation collaboration and research will help unlock our industry’s decarbonisation mission. Spring Week is the key date in the GCCA’s Innovandi calendar. It provides an opportunity for our partners to meet face-to-face, exchange ideas, run workshops, and measure progress on key research projects in line with our industry’s 2050 Net Zero Roadmap. Our industry and our key partners are stepping up to the challenge and it’s fantastic to see the progress on some of the 75 PhD candidates supported by the GCCRN.”

The event is also updating attendees about progress made by projects involved with the Innovandi Open Challenge. This initiative matches start-ups with GCCA member companies from around the world, to help scale up research and technical innovation. Two of the six start-ups selected in 2022 at the first ever Innovandi Open Challenge, which focused mainly on carbon capture and utilisation, have already gone to pilot stage. Applications for the second challenge, which focuses on low carbon concrete, close on 15 May 2023.

The GCCRN was set up by the GCCA, a lobbying group representing more than 80% of the world’s cement and concrete manufacturers outside of China. All GCCA member companies are committed to decarbonising the industry by the mid-21st Century, in line with the GCCA’s Concrete Future 2050 Net Zero Roadmap.

Ireland: CRH has reported a ‘positive’ start to 2023, with first quarter sales and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) ahead of its own expectations.

In a trading update chief executive officer Albert Manifold said “We had a positive start to the year in a seasonally quiet trading period. While some adverse weather conditions were experienced in the first quarter, sales and EBITDA were ahead, underpinned by the continued execution of our integrated solutions strategy and further commercial progress across our markets.”

In its Americas Materials Solutions business unit, CRH’s sales were 10% ahead of the first quarter of 2022, driven by robust pricing which more than offset the impact of unfavourable weather on activity levels in certain markets during this seasonally less significant quarter.

In Europe, like-for-like sales were 6% ahead of the first quarter of 2022 due to strong pricing momentum across all products and regions. Activity levels were impacted by less favourable weather conditions compared to the same period in 2022. Unfavourable currency exchange effects resulted in total sales being 1% behind 2022.

Manifold added, “Looking ahead, despite some ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties and an inflationary cost environment, we expect first-half sales, EBITDA and margin to be ahead of the prior year period.”

Mexico: The construction materials producer GCC reported double-digit growth in its first quarter results, driven by higher prices for its products in Mexico and the US. Its operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first three months of 2023 rose by 16% year-on-year compared to the same period in 2022 to reach US$63m, while revenues rose by 18% to US$243.9m.

"GCC delivered solid results in the first quarter," said Enrique Escalante, GCC’s chief executive officer. "High demand continues and we are leveraging all of GCC's resources to ensure we deliver the highest profits and strengthen our margins."

The growth in revenue was driven by higher ready-mixed concrete (RMC) sales volumes in the US, which were 27% higher than in 2022, and 11% higher cement and RMC volumes in Mexico. GCC also noted an increase in cement and RMC prices of 21% and 6%, respectively, in the US, while in Mexico the increases were 13% for cement and 11% for ready-mix.

Mozambique/South Africa: InterCement, a Brazil-based cement producer controlled by Mover (formerly Camargo Corrêa), has started to receive offers for its assets in South Africa and Mozambique. The US-based bank JP Morgan is advising the company on structuring the group’s business in Africa. The value of the deal has been estimated at around US$300m.

The company previously announced the sale of its Egyptian unit in January 2023, undertaken to reduce its debt, which has come under pressure from rising global interest rates. The company must refinance US$548m in senior notes by May 2024, which were previously raised when InterCement acquired Portugal’s Cimpor through Camargo Corrêa in 2010.

InterCement sold 17.8Mt of cement in 2022 excluding the Egyptian unit.