Displaying items by tag: Results

Morocco: National cement demand grew by 12% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025, supported by a strong construction sector. LafargeHolcim Maroc recorded consolidated revenue of US$255m for the quarter, also up by 12% from the third quarter of 2024, driven by higher sales volumes of cement and ready-mix concrete. Year-to-date revenue reached US$703m by the end of September 2025, reflecting a 12.5% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

Zimbabwe relaxed import rules on cement this week in a bid to bring down prices. This follows a high-profile visit earlier in November 2025 by Aliko Dangote with US$1bn investment plans including a new cement plant. Here’s what’s been happening.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Raj Modi, announced this week that the government was aware of price issues and was taking measures to fix it. This has included issuing licences to import around 0.15Mt of cement from October 2025 onwards. He commented that there was a backlog of cement at the border. He noted that the country has a shortage of clinker with only PPC currently manufacturing it. Local media reports that the price of cement rose by 42% in October and November 2025. This has been attributed to a local construction boom, limited local production, and constrained imports. Subsequently, vendors have run out of stock.

South Africa-based PPC has certainly done well out of the situation. Its revenue for the six months to September 2025 rose by 23% year-on-year from US$89.4m to US$110m. This was attributed to a 25% increase in sales volumes. It was also achieved despite a prolonged shutdown period at its integrated Colleen Baw plant in the first quarter of its financial year. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 11% to US$25.9m from US$23.3m.

Import bans on cement in Zimbabwe have come and gone over the last couple of decades alongside the country’s wider economic issues in response to international sanctions. Zimbabwe is land-locked but it also shares a border with South Africa, a larger cement producer. The government implemented an import ban in 2021, prices have surged periodically and remedial actions, such as large-scale licence approvals, have been taken on occasion. An additional 30% surcharge on cement imports was introduced in May 2025.

The country clearly needs more local producers and Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote flew to the rescue on 12 November 2025 to sign a memorandum of understanding with President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Details are light on the US$1bn investment deal, but it includes a 1.5Mt/yr cement plant, power generation and a 2000km fuel pipeline from Walvis Bay in Namibia that will reportedly run through Botswana. Dangote was previously in talks with the Mugabe regime in the mid-2010s but talks did not progress.

However, other plant projects are already on the way. In late October 2025 local press reported that the China-based 0.8Mt.yr Chegutu cement plant was over half-way complete. Production at the site is scheduled to start in early 2026. The WIH-Zim Cement plant is also being built at Magunje. This one has reported cement and clinker production capacities of 1.2Mt/yr and 1.8Mt/yr. Unfortunately, the local Environmental Management Agency (EMA) ordered the project to stop construction in August 2025 after inspectors found violations of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conditions, including failure to compensate displaced households. Further legal action has followed. This project is backed by Labenmon Investments, another China-based investment firm. Unfortunately, that company also popped up in the sector news this week in connection to a bribery scandal connected to an apparently separate grinding plant project in Bulawayo, according to the Herald newspaper. Two other unconnected and smaller grinding plants, JainQiang Cement and Zimsonc Industries, also reportedly started production making blended products in Hwange in mid-2025.

Of the existing cement producers, Khayah Cement entered into ‘corporate rescue proceedings’ in late December 2024, blaming international economic sanctions for causing an ‘untenable’ business environment. A public tendering process to find investors was announced by the former Lafarge subsidiary in May 2025. A US$60m rescue package from Uganda-based Hima Cement was approved by creditors and shareholders in September 2025. This includes refurbishing the company’s Harare plant. The country’s other local clinker manufacturer, Sino Zimbabwe, reportedly also restarted production in late November 2025.

The general economy in Zimbabwe was on track for a forecast 6% annual growth in July 2025 due to the agricultural sector and strong commodity prices. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated this view in November 2025, singling out easing inflation amid exchange rate stability [LINK]. Quite possibly this has also benefitted the construction sector too, leading to the current issues with imports. In this setting, Aliko Dangote’s investment plans are a serious vote of confidence for both the cement sector and the wider business environment.

Morocco: Ciments du Maroc has reported unconsolidated, unaudited sales of US$115m for the third quarter ending 30 September 2025, up by 6% year-on-year. Over the first nine months of 2025, revenue reached US$324m, an 8% year-on-year increase.

Peru: Grupo Unacem reported consolidated sales of US$530m in the third quarter of 2025, up by 0.3% year-on-year, driven mainly by the favourable performance of its operations in Peru, Ecuador and Chile. EBITDA reached US$121m. In Peru, third-quarter cement shipments were 1.56Mt, up by 3% from the third quarter of 2024, and sales were US$202m, up by 1.5% year-on-year. The company’s capital expenditure was US$138m, up by 11% year-on-year. In Ecuador, third-quarter 2025 revenues reached US$47.2m, a 3% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Unacem North America reported cement shipments of 323,000t during the third quarter, representing a 0.7% year-on-year increase. Finally, Unacem Chile recorded shipments of 277,000m³ of ready-mix concrete, a 38% increase compared to the third quarter of 2024.

Corporate CEO Pedro Lerner said “In Peru, we continue to see a positive trend, with a quarter in which our prefabricated building business achieved record revenues and market activity supported this performance. In the US, despite the challenging environment, we have maintained our market share in Arizona and increased it in California, which reaffirms the strength of our operation. We also highlight the modernisation of Termochilca, which exceeded the expected efficiency levels.”

Corporate strategy manager Alicia Campos said “This quarter our portfolio showed resilient performance, with higher volumes in Peru, Ecuador and Chile, along with sustained growth in our energy platform. EBITDA reflects this operational strength, while capital expenditure responded to the execution of strategic and sustainability projects, including environmental and efficiency improvements in our operations. These advances continue to strengthen our position and support the year-to-date performance.”

India: Cement producers saw strong sales in the second quarter of the 2026 Fiscal Year (FY2026), due to steady prices and higher sales volumes. Seasonal weakness and maintenance outages did dent performance, but the overall picture remained positive, according to the Business Standard newspaper.

Centrum Broking said that results pointed to 4 - 5% year-on-year demand growth in the second quarter despite weather-related interruptions. Stronger rural activity and ongoing construction kept consumption buoyant. Meanwhile, JM Financial reported that like-for-like cement volumes grew by 7%. Adjusted for acquisitions, consolidated volumes at UltraTech Cement and Ambuja Cements also rose by 7%, while JK Cement saw a 15.1% increase, driven by capacity increases and a higher capacity utilisation rate.

Egypt: Misr Cement Qena generated a net profit of US$36.2m during the first nine months of 2025, up by a factor of 33 from just US$1.1m in the first nine months of 2024. The company’s net profit after tax over the same period increased by a factor of eight, from US$1.96m to US$16.0m.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has reported that it ended the third quarter of 2025 with double-digit growth in net revenue and operating results. It said that this was driven by higher sales volumes and positive pricing dynamics, supported by geographic and product diversification. The company posted a global net revenue of US$1.64bn in the third quarter of 2025, a 15% rise compared to the same period of 2024. The company said that the result reflects ‘positive dynamics in both sales volumes and prices.’ The company’s cement sales for the quarter came to 10.6Mt, a 6% year-on-year rise. Votorantim Cimentos’ adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the third quarter was US$450m, up by 10% year-on-year in local currency terms. The quarter saw a net profit of US$182m a 3% year-on-year rise.

In Brazil, Votorantim Cimentos’ net revenue in the third quarter of 2025 was US$750m, a 16% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Its adjusted EBITDA for the country was US$175m, up by 9% year-on-year.

Malaysia: Hume Cement’s net profit increased to US$290,000 in its first financial quarter, which ended on 30 September 2025. Revenue for the quarter went up slightly from US$68.5m a year earlier to US$70.2m. The company reported that this was due to higher cement sales volumes.

The company stated that “The Malaysian construction sector is anticipated to maintain steady growth, supported by ongoing infrastructure development. In line with this outlook, the group continues to prioritise operational excellence and efficiency to strengthen its competitive position in the market.”

Colombia: Cementos Argos reported consolidated revenues of US$369m in the third quarter of 2025, up by 2% from US$358m in the same period of 2024. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was US$100m, while net income rose to US$75m, compared to US$20m in the third quarter of 2024.

For the first nine months of 2025, revenues totalled US$1.05bn and EBITDA was US$250m. Net profit reached US$177m, compared to US$59m in 2024. Cement volumes increased by 7.5% year-on-year, while concrete volumes fell 8%, partly due to a business model adjustment in Panama.

“These results are a clear demonstration of our strategic discipline and our team’s commitment to creating sustainable value. We maintain an optimistic outlook for the end of 2025 and continue to make steady progress in re-entering the United States market and strengthening our international presence,” said Cementos Argos president Juan Esteban Calle.

In Colombia, quarterly revenues reached US$209m with EBITDA of US$64m. Cement volumes grew 3% to 1.4Mt, while concrete volumes declined by 9%. In the year-to-date, Colombian revenues stood at US$572m and EBITDA at US$158m. In the Caribbean and Central America region, quarterly revenues were US$144m. Cement volumes totalled 1.7Mt, up by 14% year-on-year, with year-to-date revenues of US$421m.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement reported net sales of US$2.84bn for the six months ending 30 September 2025, a 1% decline year-on-year. Operating profit fell by 10% to US$213m, while ordinary profit dropped by 7% to US$213m. For the full financial year ending 31 March 2026, the company forecasts net sales of US$5.87bn and an operating profit of US$453m.