Displaying items by tag: Middle East and Africa

Saudi Arabia: Cement sales by the country’s 17 producers rose by 21% year-on-year to 13.1Mt in the second quarter of 2025, according to Al Yamama Cement. Local demand grew by 23% and accounted for 97% of total despatches, while exports fell by 16% to account for 3% of sales.

Al Yamama Cement led the market with 1.93Mt of local sales, followed by Saudi Cement with 1.36Mt, Qassim Cement with 1.14Mt and Yanbu Cement with 1.00Mt. Saudi Cement topped exports with 376,000t sold, ahead of Najran Cement with 50,000t and Eastern Province Cement at 5000t. Cement expert and CEO at consultancy firm A³&Co Amr Nader said “East Africa and Yemen have seen rising local production, such as capacity expansions in Kenya and the reactivation of plants in Ethiopia, alongside aggressive pricing from Turkiye and Iran.”

Clinker production grew by 13% year-on-year to 14.8Mt, with Saudi Cement producing 2.15Mt. Clinker inventories rose by 3% from 2024 to 134Mt by the end of June 2025, led by Southern Province Cement with 20.2Mt. Clinker exports increased by 39% year-on-year to 1.63Mt. Key markets included Bangladesh, Kenya, Benin, Ghana and Yemen.

Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement recorded net profits of US$11.2m in the first half of 2025, down by 59% year-on-year from US$27.7m. Revenues fell by 11% to US$111m from US$124m in the first half of 2024. In the second quarter of 2025, profits dropped by 50% year-on-year to US$4m, while revenues declined by 9% to US$52m. Quarter-on-quarter, profits fell by 44% from US$7.2m and revenues by 11% from US$59m.

Ivory Coast: Gebr. Pfeiffer will supply an MVR 3070 R-2 vertical roller mill to Ciments de Côte d'Ivoire (CIMCI) for clay grinding at its cement plant. The mill will produce 62t/hr of clay at ≤10% R 0.090mm for use in calcined clay cement. The order was placed by China-based contractor CBMI, which is managing the engineering, procurement and construction contract and will also supply the suspension calcination plant. The mill is scheduled to begin operation at the end of 2026.

Saudi Arabia: City Cement says that the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has declined to approve its proposed acquisition of Umm Al Qura Cement. The decision was reportedly due to a lack of certain regulatory requirements. In a market statement City Cement said that it was committed to full regulatory compliance and would consider its options regarding resubmitting the offer.

City Cement announced in late 2022 that it was preparing to buy Umm Al Qura Cement. It then started taking action towards the transaction in late 2024 onwards.

Kenya: Kalahari Cement will spend US$5.57m to acquire a 29% stake in East African Portland Cement (EAPC) from Associated International Cement and Cementia Holding, making it one of the largest shareholders. Kalahari will purchase a combined total of 26.3 million shares from the two parties. The deal, priced at US$0.21/share, is subject to several regulatory approvals.

Kalahari is a Kenyan-incorporated investment vehicle, backed by Pacific Cement (90%) and Comercio Et Consiel (10%). It currently has no direct stake in EAPC but is affiliated with Bamburi Cement, which owns 12.5%. EAPC operates an integrated cement plant near Nairobi.

Ivory Coast: Dangote Cement has announced the imminent commissioning of its 3Mt/yr grinding plant in Ivory Coast, which it says will take place in the third quarter of 2025. The company says that the investment is part of its drive to enhance its regional presence in West Africa. The company’s CEO Arvin Pathak noted that the plant will streamline and provide flexibility to Dangote’s exports in West Africa, which grew by 18.2% in the first half of 2025.

Dangote Cement is Africa’s largest cement producer, with a capacity of 48.6Mt/yr. It already operates in more than 10 African markets, including Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Ghana.

Saudi Arabia: Arabian Cement recorded a net profit of US$11.8m in the first half of 2025, a 46.9% year-on-year fall. The company’s revenues reached US$126m for the same period, a 16.9% rise. In the second quarter of 2025, Arabian Cement recorded a 20.1% lower net profit year-on-year at US$5.5m, despite a 32.9% increase in revenues to US$62.1m.

Morocco: Cement sales increased by 9.8% in the first half of 2025, according to the Department of Financial Studies and Forecasts (DEPF). Growth was driven by a 19.2% year-on-year rise in deliveries to ready-mix concrete companies, a 17.1% rise in sales to precast concrete producers, a 6.4% rise in infrastructure sales and a 6.1% rise in general distribution.

Uganda: A group of workers from Tororo Cement staged a protest on 28 July 2025, in which they demanded better pay and improved working conditions. The workers, mainly from the kiln section, called on management to increase their wages in light of the rising cost of living. They are also seeking to be considered for full-time employment and for improvements in workplace safety and conditions.

The protest was suspended after management offered a 10% salary increase, lower than the 17% initially proposed by the workers’ union. Patricia Chemutai, the company’s Human Resource Officer, expressed surprise at the demonstration, saying that negotiations had already been underway when the protests began. Chemutai noted that the disagreement stemmed from the union’s initial demand of a 30% salary increase, which management found ‘excessive.’

Nigeria: Domestic sales revenue and earnings have driven Dangote Cement’s financial performance in the first half of 2025. Its sales revenue grew by 17.7% year-on-year to US$1.35bn in the reporting period compared to US$1.15bn in 2024. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 41.8% to US$618m from US$435m. Sales and earnings grew sharply at home in Nigeria yet they fell elsewhere in Africa. Sales volumes of cement dropped by 4.1% to 13.4Mt from 13.9Mt, with a minor decrease locally and a sharper fall in other countries.

Arvind Pathak, CEO of Dangote Cement, said “While group volumes declined… [due] to softer demand in key markets, we remain encouraged by the growth in our export business. Export volumes from Nigeria increased by 18.2%, with 18 successful clinker shipments made to Ghana and Cameroon. This demonstrates the growing importance of our pan-African footprint and our ongoing commitment to regional trade and self-sufficiency.

By region, the group noted that its sales revenue in Nigeria rose sharply driven by price adjustments to keep up with inflation. Exports from national operations increased by 18.2% to 671,000t. 481,000t of this total was sent to Cameroon and Ghana. In the rest of Africa the company blamed lower sales volumes on post-election uncertainties in Senegal and South Africa, and liquidity constraints in Ethiopia due to delays in the approval of the national budget.

Finally, it was announced that company chair and founder Aliko Dangote has stepped down from the board of directors. It celebrated his, “pivotal and transformative role in shaping the company’s growth, success, and lasting legacy.”