India: Prism Johnson has appointed Rohith Chintawar as its Chief Digital Officer. Prior to this he worked as Head Digital Transformation at HIL. Earlier in his career he held positions in consulting and analysis for Hitachi Consulting and Deloitte.

Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Cement Company has appointed Mohammed Fouad appointed as its Business Excellence Director.

Fouad has worked for Riyadh Cement Company since 2021 as its Planning and Development Manager. Prior to this he worked a plant manager for Groupe SEB in Egypt and in technical management roles for Smart Systems for Factories Operation and Maintenance in Jordan. Cement sector roles in his career include working as a ‘Production and Operation Expert’ for LafargeHolcim from 2008 to 2016 and a Production Engineer for Cimpor from 2004 to 2008 in Egypt. He is a graduate in chemical engineering from Alexandria University and holds a master’s in business administration from the Paris ESLSCA Business School.

Türkiye: Aşkale Çimento has appointed Furkan Sağlam as its Marketing and Sales Chief. He has worked at the company since 2000 in sales and marketing roles. Prior to this he worked for Gözen Holding. He holds business administration degrees from Giresun University in Türkiye and Uniwersytet WSB Merito Gdańsk in Poland.

Germany: Robecco has announced with sadness the death of its founder and managing director Robert Becker, following a short, serious illness. The company said that Becker’s legacy will continue to influence it. It said that it will be happy to answer any questions or concerns of customers or partners.

Robecco said “Robert Becker was not only an outstanding entrepreneur, but also an extraordinary person who shaped our company with his commitment, his vision and his tireless efforts. His legacy will live on in our hearts and in the DNA of our company.” It added “Despite the heavy loss, we assure you that business will continue as usual in all areas of the company. We are determined to honour the legacy of Robert Becker and to continue his legacy.”

Uganda: The government has granted a 21-year mining licence to Sunbird Resources to support a cement plant project near the border with Kenya. The licence will allow the local company, which is working with China-based West China Cement, to mine limestone, according to Reuters. The partners intend to build a 1Mt/yr integrated cement plant.

Switzerland: Holcim recorded a 7.5% drop in sales to US$30.6bn in 2023, ‘largely’ due to its divestment of its cement businesses in India and Brazil. On a like-for-like basis, its sales rose by 6.1%. The group’s earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 0.2% to US$5.4bn, but by 15% like-for-like. It attributed this both to price rises and cost-saving measures in its cement and concrete operations. Net profit fell by 7.5% to €3.47bn, including a €1.7bn special gain from its Indian divestment. Holcim says that it implemented its Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth two years ahead of schedule.

Australia: Adbri reported 13% year-on-year growth in sales to US$1.25bn in 2023, up from US$1.1bn in 2022. The company's earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 5.2% to US$193m. The year marked the successful launch of its EcoCem and Futurecrete reduced-CO₂ cement and concrete ranges. At the end of the year, Adbri’s ongoing US$255 – 277m upgrade to its Kwinana grinding plant was 70% complete.

Deputy chair Samantha Hogg and CEO Mark Irwin said “In 2023 we took significant steps to refocus and reshape our organisation to support a more resilient Adbri and to invest in our future. Our focus on best‑in-class customer solutions and margin recovery has supported a strong full-year financial result.”

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement Corporation's sales were US$3.45bn in 2023. Smartkarma Newswire has reported that this is 1.4% lower than its forecast of US$3.5bn. Nonetheless, the company’s profit exceeded its expectations by 3.6%, at US$316m.

Spain: India-based Nasequip Systems says that it has successfully commissioned a new dual fluid gas cooling system at Cosmos Cementos’ Toral De Los Vados cement plant. The supplier said that the upgrade will help to increase productivity and efficiency. It thanked Türkiye-based DAL Engineering for selecting its equipment.

Portugal: Taiwan Cement (Dutch) Holdings paid €65m to acquire its new stake in Cimpor, Reuters has reported. Parent company Taiwan Cement Corporation agreed to buy current majority shareholder OYAK Çimento’s 60% stake in Cimpor for €480m in November 2023.