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Cement cartels (or at least cases of cartel-like behaviour) have reared their ugly heads this week... again. In two different markets, Australia and Brazil, competition authorities are at various stages of taking major action against large proportions of their respective cement industries. In another, Europe, it is the cement producers that are taking on the authorities.

This week, the Australian Federal Court has found five producers guilty of agreeing anti-competitive contracts with regard to fly-ash supply contracts from power stations in the state of Victoria. Only Cement Australia Holdings was not accused. Penalties are to be determined at a later date – watch this space.

As drastic as the Australian situation may be, it is Brazil's anti-trust authority Cade that looks set to make the biggest 'splash' in a cement industry in 2014. On 13 March 2014 it was reported that a US$1.32bn fine, split over six cement producers, has been put on hold after the producers disputed a ruling that would see them lose an average 24% of their cement assets each. So big is this fine that it actually eclipses the US$1.1bn fine seen in India in 2012. In light of the amount of influence that they look set to lose, it now looks extremely likely that the producers will appeal. This sets the scene for indeterminably long waits for legal proceedings and more evidence to be collected. Whatever happens in Brazil, there will be major implications for its increasingly-concentrated cement market.

Elsewhere, in a strange inversion of the normal situation, in Europe it is the cement producers that are taking action. This week the European Court has rejected an appeal from eight major cement producers including Holcim, HeidelbergCement and Cemex subsidiaries with respect to the European Commission's handling of an anti-cartel investigation that began in 2008. That case saw anti-trust investigations start in 2010. Proceedings continue.

As stated previously in this column, cartel-like behaviour is not necessarily indicative of a formal cartel. There are innumerable factors that make every case different and, in each, proving actual collusion is very hard indeed. In the cement industry however, it appears that 'convictions' in cartel cases are easier to spot than in other sectors.

"The first thing for any new competition regulator is to go out and find the cement cartel. My experience of this subject is, it is always there, somewhere," wrote Richard Whish, a Professor of Law at King's College London in 2001. "The only countries in which I had been unable to find the cement cartel is where there is a national state-owned monopoly for cement."

The authorities will keep looking and producers, guilty or not, will continue to wait for their call.

Moldova: Nicolas Valdinoci has become the new director of Lafarge Moldova. He replaces Louis de Sambucy who has moved to Lafarge Algeria. Valdinoci worked for three years in Lafarge's department of strategy and in 2010 he became the financial director of the concrete and aggregates division in Lafarge Algeria. In 2012, he was appointed as deputy director of sales at Lafarge Algeria.

Germany: HeidelbergCement has announced its consolidated financial results for 2013. The year saw its revenue reach Euro14bn, a 3.4% increase year-on-year, with operating income 5.2% higher than 2012 at Euro1.61bn. Its profit was up by 79% year-on-year reaching Euro945m, with earnings per share more than doubling to Euro3.98.

The company said that it had brought the year to a 'successful close' in a difficult economic environment. It highlighted a return to steady economic growth in North America and Europe as well as continued growth in Asia and Africa.

"In 2013, we generated our best results since the financial crisis," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. "This was mainly due to the successful implementation of our FOX 2013 programme, price increases in major markets, reduced financing costs and lower non-recurring charges. Consequently, we were able to improve revenue, operating income and operating margins in all our business lines on a comparable basis. At the same time, we clearly achieved our target of noticeably increasing profit for the financial year and earnings per share."

HeidelbergCement's cement sales volumes rose slightly year-on-year, driven by the positive development of sales volumes in the North America, Asia-Pacific and Africa-Mediterranean Basin group areas, which more than offset a decline in demand elsewhere, especially in Eastern Europe.

For 2014, HeidelbergCement expects continued improvement, including in Eastern Europe. "In 2014 we will benefit from economic development in industrial countries, particularly in North America, the UK, Germany and Northern Europe," said Scheifele. "These countries generate almost 50% of our revenue. Furthermore, we are improving our market position in growth markets with the commissioning of modern production facilities. In view of these factors, as well as our high operational efficiency, we consider ourselves well-equipped to benefit over-proportionally from the accelerating economic growth in the interests of our shareholders."

Peru: Cement production in Peru reached a total of 832,275t in February 2014, according to the national cement association Asocem. This represents 3.4% growth year-on-year compared to February 2013.

Indonesia: Indocement Tunggal Prakasa, Indonesia's second largest cement manufacturer, posted a 5.2% increase in its profit in 2013, reaching US$440m. Its revenue also surged by 8.1% to reach US$1.65bn for 2013. It attributed its improved fortunes to an increase in cement prices. "The company used the good market momentum to increase prices, contributing to the increase in net revenue," said Indocement in a statement. Indocement's cement and clinker sales volumes increased by 1.2% to reach 18.2Mt in 2013.

India: Hundreds of farmers who will be affected by a JP Associates cement plant that is under construction in Mangal village, Himachal Pradesh, have staged a protest outside of Arki Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM).

The villagers staged their protest over allegations that the cement plant has ruined Mangal village, with JP Associates allegedly having dumped waste in the area. They claim that this has caused massive devastation due to the subsequent run-off from the waste into neighbouring fields.

The Himachal Pradesh high court has passed an order to remove the offending waste and asked the district administration to comply with the order. The villagers have alleged that the district administration failed to force JP Associates to remove the waste that was dumped in the villages. Protesters hold little hope that JP Associates will comply, as successive governments have seldom forced it to in the past.

Italy/Egypt: Italcementi celebrated its 150th anniversary and 10 years of 'successful operations in Egypt' in March 2014. Director general of Italcementi, Giovanni Ferrario, said that the group's mission focused on 'product innovation, quality and opportunities for the future.' The new branding system, i.Nova, was presented at the event, a system that he said was, "The result of 15 years of research that rejuvenates the group's marketing strategy."

The company says that the i.Nova approach focuses on the client in a strategy that is no longer based on supplying a single product, but on the ability to offer solutions that can meet several different needs at the same time 'fast and efficiently.' ''Our industrial strategy centres around research, innovation and sustainability, values that are necessary for competitiveness,'' said Ferrario.

Chile: Chile-based utility company E-CL and Cementos Bío Bío's Antofagasta plant have signed a contract that is related to the reuse of fly ash for cement production.

After a long process of development and testing between the two companies, the ash that is captured by filters from the central generating units Thermal Andina (CTA) and Thermal Power Hornitos (CTH) in Mejillones, is used to replace natural pozzolan in Cementos Bío Bío's cement products.

Cementos Bío Bío expects to consume 70% of the daily production of fly ash from the CTA and CTH generating units. The project will bring a huge environmental benefit, since prior to this agreement, all the ash was deposited in landfills. The ash is a non-hazardous waste with similar properties to natural pozzolan, so its use in place of pozzolan means that the cement maintains its durability and strength.

Carlos Ferruz, manager of generation sites and E-CL, said that, "This initiative gives a new use for the ash, incorporating this non-hazardous waste as a raw material to a useful product such as cement. Loading, transport and unloading is performed without generating pollution." Ferruz added, "Usually the ash resulting from electricity generation is taken to a landfill, but with this innovation the ash acquires a new use and proves to be a real contribution to the environmental sustainability policies of both companies."

Sri Lanka: Work on Thatta Cement's cement grinding, storing and bagging plant in Sri Lanka has come to a screeching halt.

The company informed investors on 14 March 2014 that the project was 'temporarily suspended' as the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) had not executed the Land Lease Agreement (LLA), despite the fact that basic engineering of the project had been completed by Thatta Cement Company (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of Thatta Cement Company.

The CFO and company secretary of Thatta Cement, Muhammad Taha Hamdani, complained that the SLPA had also signed an agreement with another business venture of car trans-shipment in close vicinity to the proposed cement project, "Without anticipating the expected operational conflict, which now appears to hinder setting up the proposed cement project within the layout originally planned by the SLPA."

The company official stated that further progress on the project would recommence as soon as the LLA is signed with the SLPA.

Malaysia: Cement Industries of Malaysia Bhd (CIMA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEM Group Bhd, is set to be the first cement manufacturer in the country to use tyres and biomass waste as an alternative source of fuel.

CIMA managing director Mohd Yusri Md Yusof said that the company has installed an alternative fuel combustion system from Japan's Taiheiyo Engineering Corporation, which will allow the company to use tyres and biomass waste such as palm kernel shell and empty fruit bunch (EFB) as an alternative source of fuel.

"The move makes CIMA the first cement manufacturer in the country with this technology," said Yusof. He added that using waste as alternative fuel for cement production ensures that waste materials are reused in a responsible manner instead of being disposed of in landfills.

"With this state-of-the-art technology in place, we can reduce energy costs through the utilisation of tyres and biomass up to a maximum of 30%, while at the same time playing an active role in reducing our carbon footprint," said Yusof.

Meanwhile, Plantation Industries and Commodities minister, Douglas Uggah Embas, said that the Malaysian government has identified biomass as one of the growth areas towards creating wealth from waste. "The National Biomass Strategy 2020 outlines the framework and the potential of the biomass in creating higher value-added economic activities. The National Biomass strategy envisages a potential contribution of Gross National Income of US$9.16bn by 2020," said Embas.