Oman: The board of directors of Raysut Cement approved the resignation of its chief financial officer Jitendar Singhvi.

Jordan: Ahmed Shireen Korayem, chief executive officer and managing director at the Egyptian cement producer El Nahda Industries, has been appointed as a board member by the Arab Union of Cement & Building Materials (AUCBM) during the ongoing Arab-International Cement Conference, which is currently taking place in Amman, Jordan.

Sudan: Atif Saeed has been appointed as the new chief executive officer at Habesha Cement Company.

Egypt: Cemex’s chief executive officer (CEO) Fernando A González was part of the First Movers Coalition panel at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh on 8 November 2022. He participated alongside the World Economic Forum’s president Borge Brende, Microsoft president Brad Smith, ReNew chair and managing director Sumant Sinha, Volvo Group chief purchasing officer Andrea Fuder and US Special Climate Envoy John Kerry.

Cemex is a founding member of the First Movers Coalition, a partnership between the World Economic Forum and the US Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. It is the only buyers’ club working to scale new technologies across the heavy industry and heavy-duty transport sectors.

As a First Movers Coalition member, Cemex committed to making 32% of its heavy-duty transport purchases zero emissions by 2030. This commitment aligns with the company’s ambitious goals of reducing transport carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 and becoming net zero by 2050, part of its Future in Action program to achieve sustainable excellence and become a net zero CO₂ company.

This commitment is particularly challenging, as zero-emission heavy-duty transport is presently unavailable at scale. At the panel, Fernando A Gonzalez talked about how collaboration and innovation are at the core of his company’s efforts. Cemex is already piloting fully electric concrete mixer trucks with partners like Volvo. It is also investing in transition technologies such as natural gas, replacing 200 diesel trucks with this lower-emission alternative in 2022.

Cemex will a host a discussion panel called Working Together to Decarbonise the Construction Value Chain, to be moderated by Thomas Guillot, chief executive of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), on 10 November 2022. The panelists will include Diane Hoskins (Gensler Co), Aniruddha Sharma (Carbon Clean), Hubertus Meinecke (BCG) and Adair Turner (Energy Transitions Commission), in addition to Cemex’s Fernando A González.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement’s operating revenue grew by 7.5% year-on-year to US$657m for the half of its 2023 fiscal year, covering the six-month period to 30 September 2022, compared to US$612m in the same period in its 2022 fiscal year. However, rising costs led to the company reporting an operating loss of US$41.9m compared to an operating profit of US$35.6m previously. Its pretax loss was US$37.7m compared to a pretax profit of US$47.9m. Sumitomo Osaka Cement recorded an overall net loss of US$20m, compared to a net profit of US$41.5m in the first half of the 2022 financial year.

The company expects to record net revenues of US$1.42bn across the entire 2023 fiscal year, with a net loss of US$4.1m. This indicates that it has forecast performance to improve significantly over the next six months.

Saudi Arabia: China-based Sinoma has signed a contract with Yamama Cement for the construction of a new 10,000t/day clinker production line at its new plant site. The announcement of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract at the Arab-International Cement Conference in Amman, Jordan, came shortly after the news that Sinoma had been contracted to dismantle, move and rebuild one of Yamama Cement’s existing cement production lines in a strategic move between the producer’s old and new plant sites.

India: India Cements Limited has posted a loss of US$16.9m during the quarter that ended on 30 September 2022 on account of increases in fuel and coal costs. The manufacturer had earlier reported a profit of US$9.3m in the three months to 30 June 2022. India Cements’ vice chair and managing director, N Srinivasan, “It was a difficult quarter because the coal price increase was quite sharp.”

Argentina: Loma Negra, part of Brazil-based InterCement, recorded net sales of US$236m in the third quarter of 2022, a 4.2% year-on-year rise compared to the third quarter of 2021. The group attributed the increase to improved cement sales, complemented by improved concrete and aggregates sales.

Loma Negra’s consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 12.7% to US$47.0m. However, it still made a net loss of US$76.6m, mainly due to the cancellation of debt in foreign currencies with local funding.

Sergio Faifman, Loma Negra's chief executive officer, noted, “The industry (exhibits) a positive trend, showing a high level of activity and heading to a record year. In fact, the third quarter was the best in history in terms of cement shipments for the industry and for Loma Negra. Our production capacity and our extensive nationwide distribution network allow us to keep up with the growing demand, underpinning our status as leaders in the industry.”

US: Roanoke Cement, part of Titan America, has held a ground-breaking ceremony for an expansion at its Chesapeake Terminal near Norfolk in Virginia. Council members, other state and local officials and Roanoke Cement team members gathered to launch the project, to build a new US$40m storage dome. In response to increasing demand for low carbon cement, the storage dome at the terminal will provide an additional 70,000t of capacity, tripling the site’s existing storage volume. The Chesapeake Terminal will see expanded truck and rail capacity as well, and the improved terminal will enable the import and distribution of other raw materials needed to produce concrete.

"This important capital improvement is another investment in anticipation of increased construction material demand for infrastructure development and other projects," said Kevin Baird, president of Titan America's Mid-Atlantic Business Unit, which includes Roanoke Cement. "Expanded storage and marine terminal upgrades permit us to make low carbon cement available for construction needs all over the region."

The company expects the expanded facility to be completed by the end of 2023, in time for the region’s 2024 construction season.

Namibia: The Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) and Cheetah Cement yesterday reached a wage agreement to end a strike that has crippled the company’s Otjiwarongo plant for the past three months. A total of 80 Cheetah Cement’s employees, which is the trading name of the Chinese-owned company Whale Rock Cement (WRC), had been striking after the company and the MUN failed to reach an agreement in negotiations about wage increases and improved conditions of service.

The agreement will see all workers receive a 5% increase in salary, as well as a 5% increase in housing allowances. “We would like to place on record that the company's generous offer is not based on an admission of affordability but rather a commitment to bring an end to the prolonged wage dispute,” said WRC’s general manager Kevin Lee said in a statement.

Other increases include the company paying 80% of employees’ medical aid contributions, the introduction of a new pension fund in January 2023 and back-pay for 12 months at employees’ new rates, to be paid by the company within 14 days.