Dominican Republic: Cemex has signed an agreement to sell its operations in the Dominican Republic to Cementos Progreso Holdings and partners for US$950m. The sale includes a cement plant with a capacity of 2.4Mt/yr, 12 concrete plants, a quarry and two distribution centres, as well as export businesses to Haiti.The divestment is expected to finalise in the fourth quarter of 2024, pending closing conditions.

Fernando Gonzalez, CEO of Cemex, said "This transaction advances us significantly in our portfolio rebalancing strategy which is focused on reducing our exposure in emerging markets and redeploying capital into growth investments in priority markets, primarily the US."

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has reported an increase in sales and net income for the second quarter ending 30 June 2024. Sales rose from US$66.7m in the second quarter of 2023 to US$99.5m in the same period in 2024, representing a year -on-year increase of 49%. Net income also increased, from US$12.9m to US$15.2m, a year-on-year increase of 18%.

Serbia: Lafarge Serbia will open a new €110m plant in Obrenovac to produce cement from thermal power plant ash, with the aim to address Serbia's waste management problem, according to a government announcement on 5 August 2024. A 2019 report by the European Environmental Agency found that Serbia has around 100 municipal landfills and over 3000 illegal dumpsites.

Lafarge Serbia executive Dimitrije Knjeginjic said "This production will benefit Serbia and its economy, and it is absolutely acceptable from an environmental point of view because it solves the problem of ash landfills."

Jamaica: Caribbean Cement has recorded a profit of US$15m for the end of its second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 9% from the US$13.8m in the same period in 2023. Six-month earnings reached US$27m. Revenue also rose by 3% to US$49.2m. The company will undertake its annual maintenance in the current July – September quarter and expects fluctuating demand due to prevailing weather conditions. The company is continuing its expansion programme to boost production capacity by up to 30% and reduce its carbon footprint.