India: JK Lakshmi Cement recorded sales of US$189m during the second quarter of the 2024 financial year (FY2024), up by 15% year-on-year. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 33% to US$26.1m, while its profit grew by 43% to US$5.4m.

US: Sustainable technology developer ClimeCo has welcomed the Climate Action Reserve (CAR)’s launch of the US Low-Carbon Cement Protocol. The protocol will provide guidance on quantifying, monitoring, reporting and verifying emissions reductions associated with the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in alternative cement production. ClimeCo says that this will help to establish the eligibility of various waste streams and naturally occurring materials for use in cement.

ClimeCo president and CEO Bill Flederbach said "While demand for cement has never been higher, it remains an exceptionally difficult-to-abate industry. This new protocol demonstrates the power of credible, validated and science-based voluntary carbon credits in accelerating the pace and adoption of environmental reforms. It also confirms ClimeCo's belief that, by engaging the right partners and taking a holistic approach, every industry and every company, even those facing the biggest challenges, can make a huge difference. Time is of the essence, and ClimeCo is proud to lead the way toward a brighter future."

US: Holcim US has rolled out its own Holcim US brand across its operations in the Greater Chicago Area, which previously bore Lafarge branding. The operations include cement terminals and the South Chicago slag grinding plant. 400 people work for Holcim across the Greater Chicago Area.

Holcim US senior vice president and general manager, North Central Region, Randy Gaworski said “Right in the backyard of our company headquarters, we’re excited the Greater Chicago Area operations will now be recognised as Holcim. Customers will continue to experience the same quality products and services they expect from us today, but now have access to a larger network of services and innovation.”

Germany: Heidelberg Materials raised its sales by 1.8% year-on-year to Euro16.1bn in the first nine months of 2023. Regionally, sales rose by 7.5% to Euro3.69bn in North America, by 2.6% to Euro2.76bn in Asia-Pacific by 3.5% to Euro4.94bn in Western and Southern Europe, by 2.5% to Euro2.74bn in Northern and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, but fell by 10% in Africa-Eastern Mediterranean Basin to Euro1.41bn. Cement volumes fell across all of the group’s business lines, as ‘solid developments’ in infrastructure and industrial commercial construction failed to offset locally ‘massive’ declines in residential construction. Heidelberg Materials raised its 2023 outlook based on anticipated continued moderate revenues growth to a full-year result of Euro2.85 – 3bn, from Euro2.7 – 2.9bn previously.

Chair Dominik von Achten said “We have closed the first three quarters of 2023 with a strong result, despite declining demand for our building materials. On a like-for-like basis, all group areas have contributed to this result. I would like to thank the entire Heidelberg Materials team for their outstanding performance in what continues to be a very challenging business environment.” Von Achten continued “In the third quarter, we were able to further strengthen our pioneering role in the decarbonisation of the building materials sector. Our activities have gained further momentum with the installation of the core equipment of the carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) plant in Brevik, Norway, and the start of construction of a CCUS pilot plant in Bulgaria. This brings us much closer to our goal of offering our customers climate-friendly products on a large scale.”

India: Ambuja Cements’ sales were US$477m over the nine-month period up to 30 September 2023. This represents an 8% year-on-year rise from nine-month 2022 levels. The producer sold 7.6Mt of cement, up by 7% from 7.1Mt. It said that its electricity and fuel costs dropped by 32% year-on-year, which helped to grow its profit after tax by a factor of five to US$77.4m.

US: Local press has reported that Peru-based UNACEM has completed its purchase of the Tehachapi cement plant in California from Martin Marietta Materials. UNACEM concluded an agreement to take over the plant from the North Carolina-based producer in August 2023, for a reported US$317m.

Pakistan: Gharibwal Cement recorded sales of US$15.7m during the first quarter of its 2024 financial year (FY2024), up by 14% year-on-year from US$13.8m in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year (FY2023). The producer’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 10% to US$3.49m from US$3.89m.

Gharibwal Cement said that it expects local cement demand to remain ‘sufficient’ to maintain its sales growth throughout the rest of FY2024. It noted that rising coal and fuel prices may further impact its earnings for the year.

Nigeria: BUA Group chair Abdulsamad Rabiu has told investors that BUA Cement will commission its upcoming Sokoto cement plant by 31 January 2024, the Punch newspaper has reported. Rabiu said that the producer is ‘working tirelessly’ to deliver the plant on time, in order ensure a local supply of cement at a reasonable price.

India: The India Cements’ earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached US$1.68m during the second quarter of the 2024 financial year. The producer recorded a negative EBITDA of US$10.5m during the second quarter of the previous financial year. It succeeded in reducing its net loss by 41% to US$9.73m from US$16.6m. The India Cements said that oversupply and competition placed its cement prices under pressure.

India: SRMPR Cements has launched its Portland pozzolana cement (PPC) for the first time, in Tamil Nadu. The Hindu BusinessLine newspaper has reported that the company controls 420,000t/yr of cement production capacity across three facilities in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. It invested a total US$27m in its production facilities and warehouses. SRMPR Cements will sell its PPC in 50kg bags. It also plans to launch ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in the future. It said that its products will help to meet ‘massive’ demand from public construction projects.

CEO Ohm Prakash said that the producer has already concluded deals with 100 different regional retailers of cement.