Displaying items by tag: Annual General Meeting

Switzerland: The shareholders of LafargeHolcim Ltd have voted in favour of changing the group name to Holcim Ltd at the company’s annual general meeting held on 4 May 2021. The name change applies only to the group company name with all market brands remaining in existence. The new group name will become effective upon entry in the commercial register. LafargeHolcim was officially formed in July 2015 when France-based Lafarge and Switzerland-based Holcim merged.

Germany: HeidelbergCement’s profit was Euro1.24bn in 2019, down by 3.4% from Euro1.23bn in 2018. Its revenue grew by 4.3% to Euro18.9bn from Euro18.1bn. HeidelbergCement says that it reduced its specific net CO₂ emissions by 1.5% year-on-year to 590kg/t from 599kg/t in 2018 and ‘intensified its research and development (R&D) efforts on carbon capture and utilisation/storage (CCU/S)’ in every operating region globally.

The group announced a year-on-year increase in volumes in the first two months of 2020, with all but three of its plants (HeidelbergCement subsidiary Italcementi’s 2.8Mt/yr Calusco plant, 2.5Mt/yr Rezzato plant and 0.6Mt/yr Tavernola plant in Lombardy region, Italy) still operating through the coronavirus pandemic, though it noted that construction is slowing in the US, Australia and Western Europe due to the outbreak.

HeidelbergCement cancelled its 7 May 2020 annual general meeting (AGM) ‘due to the spread of the coronavirus.’

UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has held its inaugural annual general meeting and symposium in London. Member companies ratified key deliverables for the association and set-out its priorities and work program. Albert Manifold, chief executive officer (CEO) of CRH, was confirmed as GCCA President and will serve for two years. Fernando A González, CEO of Cemex and Jianglin Cao, CEO of CNBM, were confirmed as Vice-Presidents.

The work program will focus on: position concrete as the sustainable building material of choice; promote international best practice in the areas of safety, production and the use of cement and concrete in the built environment; foster innovation in the cement and concrete sectors; make a positive contribution to global sustainable development; and promote the principles of a circular economy across the value chain.

“Concrete is the enabler of critical buildings and infrastructure that enhance the way we live – safe and durable homes, roads, hospitals, clean water, effective wastewater management, as well as providing the vital structures for the clean energy of tomorrow,” said Benjamin Sporton, the CEO of the GCCA.

The association was launched in January 2018. It represents 32 member companies with nine affiliate organisations. Its members hold 35% of global cement production.

Kenya: The annual general meeting of the East African Portland Cement company has been cancelled following the non-attendance of the company’s auditors. The meeting requires the presence of the office of the Auditor-General or its appointee Deloitte East Africa to proceed, according to the Business Daily newspaper. The management was unaware that the procedure had changed a company director said. The meeting has been rescheduled for 3 February 2017. The cement producer has a poor corporate governance record following the accusation of its chief executive of sexual harassment and reports of theft of stock in late November 2016, among other incidents.

Nigeria: Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, the chairman of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), has warned that the price of cement may rise if the Naira continues to devalue. He made the comments at the company’s Annual General Meeting according to the Nation newspaper. Imported inputs such as fuel, machinery, spare parts and gypsum would all be affected by local currency depreciation. The cement producer was forced to shut down its Sokoto cement plant for intermittent periods in late 2015 due to poor supplies of low pour fuel oil (LFPO) from the Kaduna refinery.

The subsidiary of BUA Group reported that its turnover fell by 14% year-on-year to US$41.4m in 2015 from US$48m in 2014. Its profit after tax fell by 37% to US$3.81m from US$6.09m.