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Slovenia: Slovenia faces EU judicial proceedings for its alleged failure to fully-implement a system of environmental permits for its large industrial plants. The case referred to the EU Court of Justice relates to one of the country's two cement producers, which continues to operate without permits.

The Commission said that matter would be referred to the court for failure to implement provisions of the integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) directive of 2007, which requires that industrial plants be licensed to verify that they meet strict environmental controls. It is the second time that Slovenia has faced EU court action over the IPPC directive, after the Court of Justice found in 2010 that Slovenia was running afoul rules requiring that all plants meet the set requirements.

The EU is seeking a base fine of Euro1.6m for the country plus Euro9009 for each day that the violation persists. The Slovenian Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning said that it was, "Striving to implement as quickly as possible the alleged violations of EU law." Licenses under the IPPC directive became a requirement for member states as of 30 October 2007. According to the Commission, Slovenia has made considerable progress since the 2010 ruling, but full compliance with the judgement has still not been reached.

The new case concerns 'a major cement factory,' which continues to operate without a permit. While it avoided naming the plant, Slovenia has two cement plants owned by Salonit Anhovo and Lafarge. Whereas Salonit Anhovo is a licensed IPPC plant, Lafarge is involved in lengthy bureaucratic and legal proceedings in seeking a permit. It has faced ongoing protests from local groups against it being granted a license. Despite not having a license, the plant continues to operate.

The Environment Ministry said that one of the factors influencing the length of procedures was a ruling by an administrative court in Slovenia demanding that Lafarge's plant be treated as a new facility rather than an existing installation. The Environment Agency, which issues permits, is therefore obliged to complete all procedures prescribed for licensing of new plants.

Czech Republic: Holcim (Cesko) will change its name to Cemex Cement from 1 March 2015. At the same time, Holcim will transfer part of the plant producing ready-mixed concrete to Cemex Czech Republic and part of the stone aggregate production plant to Cemex Sand. The changes follow the acquisition of all of Holcim's assets in the Czech Republic by Cemex in January 2015.

Trinidad & Tobago: Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) has recorded major losses in 2014. Company CEO Alejandro Ramirez said that TCL achieved a pre-tax loss of US$15.3m in 2014, compared to a pre-tax profit of US$6.14m in 2013. TCL also recorded a post-tax loss of US$33.2m in 2014, compared to a profit of US$10.5m in 2013.

TCL's sales increased by 9% year-on-year from US$299m in 2013 to US$330m in 2014. This was mainly driven by TCL's cement and Readymix segments. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) remained flat at US$63.4m in 2014. Despite the sales increase, EBITDA didn't increase because there were some extraordinary items that affected the results, according to Ramirez. He said that the 'extraordinary' expenses totalled US$8.97m and included the impairment of weather-damaged clinker, which was stored outside TCL's Barbados subsidiary Arawak Cement Company for several years.

Russia: According to the Russian Cement Association (CMPRO), for the first time since 2009, domestic cement consumption is expected to decline by 15% in 2015 due to the reduction in housing and infrastructure development.

Sales have dropped by at least 5% since the start of 2015. The slow decline may continue for several years. Lafarge expects that the strongest drop, by some 8 - 12%, will be seen in central regions of Russia. Lafarge intends to produce about 2.6Mt in 2015. Siberian Cement has predicted that the cement market of Siberia may shrink by 5 - 7% in 2015 and will reduce its production by 7% to 4Mt during the year. According to the NEO Centre consulting group, cement output in Russia grew by 3% year-on-year to 68.4Mt in 2014.

Colombia: Cementos Argos' net profit rose by 58.8% in 2014 compared to 2013 due to an increase in domestic sales and sales in the US, which are expected to continue in 2015. Profit was up to US$145m compared to US$73.7m in 2013.

"In our opinion, 2015 will be a year when construction and demand for cement will maintain their positive dynamic," said CEO Jose Alberto Velez. He highlighted Colombian government spending on public housing and highways. "We project that volumes will grow by a high rate in infrastructure and a medium rate in housing."

For its US division, Cementos Argos is 'very optimistic' and anticipates doubling 2014's US$68m in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). Velez said the company estimates EBITDA in the region will reach US$120 – 130m in 2015. Operating income was up by 16.8% to US$2.9bn in 2014, while total EBITDA was up by 8.4% to US$534m. Cement sales were up by 8% in 2014 to 12.5Mt. In 2014 Cementos Argos made acquisitions valued at US$785m and invested US$230m in expansion and modernisation.

Australia: Adelaide Brighton boss Martin Brydon said that he would pursue funding from the Abbott Government's US$2.55bn Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) as Adelaide Brighton accelerates its alternative fuel use to head off its rising gas bill. The ERF is the centre-piece of the government's direct action climate policy and the first auction for funding starts on 15 April 2015.

Adelaide Brighton has a total energy bill of around US$130m/yr. Brydon said that the group will save US$6m/yr from the repeal of the carbon tax. "We are energy-intensive and capital-intensive. Anything that happens that can reduce the cost of energy is critical," said Brydon.

Adelaide Brighton's Birkenhead cement plant in south Australia, which recently expanded its cement production capacity to 750,000t/yr, generates 15% of its energy from waste wood used in construction. Brydon said that he plans to take that number to 30% and that he 'will certainly' be bidding for grants from the ERF. "The cost of that waste wood energy is significantly below the cost of natural gas," said Brydon.

In 2014, Adelaide Brighton reported a 14.3% rise in net profit to US$136m and a 9% rise in revenue to US$1.06bn. The profit and revenue numbers were both records for the company, although after stripping out one-off items the underlying profit was US$132m. Strong residential housing activity in NSW and Queensland, work on the Pacific Highway upgrade and ongoing demand from resource projects in western Australia and the northern regions buoyed sales. Adelaide Brighton said that it expects price increases in 2015 across all of its products.

In August 2014 the company acquired two concrete businesses and a quarry. Brydon said that he is looking for other businesses to buy, but opportunities for quality long-term assets were 'few and far between.'