Ethiopia: The Lemi National Cement Factory is preparing to begin production within two months. Located in Amhara Regional State, 130km north of Addis Ababa, the plant will produce 6.4Mt/yr of cement, nearly doubling the nation's current production capacity. The plant represents a joint investment between Ethiopian and Chinese investors and according to 2Merkato News, is expected to become the largest cement plant in Africa.

Egypt: Sinai Cement Company reported a consolidated net profit of US$6.4m for the first quarter of 2024, a turnaround from a net loss of US$1.2m in the same period last year. The company's net sales reached US$24.6m, down slightly from US$26.3m in the first quarter of 2023.

India: In the fiscal year April 2023 to March 2024, Adani Group recorded a profit increase of 55% year-on-year to US$3.6bn from US$2.3bn. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 40% to US$7.9bn, although sales fell by 6%. Adani Group plans to spend US$90bn on capital expenditure over the next 10 years.

Spain: Cement consumption in Andalusia fell by 15% in the first quarter of 2024, to 0.67Mt, marking a decrease of 0.11Mt from the same quarter in 2023. The Cement Manufacturers Group of Andalusia (AFCA) attributes the significant 29% drop in March 2024 to the timing of Holy Week and heavy rainfall, which impacted construction activities. Exports of clinker and cement also decreased by 34.2%, with a volume of 97,609t in the first quarter of 2024. Over the last 12 months, consumption declined by 3.8% to 3.06Mt.

President of AFCA, Carmen Díaz Canabal, said "We will have to wait for the second quarter data to see the real evolution of the behaviour of the cement market, and therefore of construction, during this year."