Global Cement News

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has reported that its net profit surged by 24% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of 2024, to reach US$179m. Its net revenue increased by 6% year-on-year to reach US$1.33bn.

However, when excluding currency fluctuations, revenue decreased by 1%. This highlights the significant impact of foreign exchange rates on Votorantim's global operations. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 20% to US386m. Cement sales volume increased by 3% to 10Mt during the quarter.

The company said that these figures indicate resilient demand across Votorantim's markets, despite challenging economic conditions in some regions. The company's diversified geographical presence has helped balance market fluctuations.

In the sustainability arena, Votorantim Cimentos also says that it has made significant progress. The company reduced its specific embodied CO₂ emissions by 4% to 556kg/t of cement in 2023. It has also increased its alternative fuel thermal substitution rate (TSR) from 26.5% in 2022 to 30.9% in 2023.

Türkiye: Çimsa will invest US$31.8m in an expansion to its calcium aluminate cement production facilities at its Mersin Cement subsidiary. The upgrade will reportedly be completed by the end of the first half of 2026.

Tunisia: Société les Ciments de Bizerte’s local sales fell by 77.43% in the third quarter of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023, to US$1.7m in 2024. This decrease is due to the total cessation of clinker production during this period. Similarly, the total turnover of Société Les Ciments de Bizerte fell in the third quarter of 2024 due to the domestic sales situation and a total absence of exports. As a result of the company’s ongoing financial crisis, it has not been able to meet its commitments to suppliers or its bank debts.

The company made just 16,796t of cement during the third quarter of 2024, 75,020t less than in the same period of 2023 when it produced 91,816t.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has started the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Study phase on the GeZero project at its Milke plant in Geseke. The technical planning phase is being conducted by Fluor Corporation. It will focus on the design and integration of the various systems into the overall technical concept, which also includes a CO₂ transport solution. The technical planning is expected to be completed in mid-2025 with construction scheduled to start in 2026.

Christian Knell, CEO of Heidelberg Materials Germany, said “With GeZero, Heidelberg Materials will rely on CO₂ capture using state-of-the-art oxyfuel technology in combination with a CO₂ cleaning and liquefaction plant. To pave the way for domestic CCS plants, a CO₂ transport solution by rail is part of the planning until the necessary pipeline infrastructure is available. In addition, a local CO2 storage hub is to be created as interim storage. The electrical energy requirement for the operation of the plant is to be covered exclusively by renewable energies. A new photovoltaic system in the vicinity of the factory premises will help to meet the needs.”

The GeZero project is preparing to build a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) value chain for the Geseke cement plant, North Rhine-Westphalia, in inland Germany. It aims to capture 0.7Mt/yr of CO₂ starting from 2029. The project is supported by the European Union Innovation Fund.

Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPC) has contracted a technical audit from Denmark-based FLSmidth Cement with a value of just under US$70m. EAPC’s acting managing director Mohamed Osman said the findings would guide a pending plant upgrade, to be funded by some of the proceeds from the land sale, according to the Star newspaper. It hopes to double capacity at the unit by the late 2020s without incurring debt. The cement producer is also considering its options to use alternative fuels such as macadamia husks and other agricultural biomass. The 10-week audit process is expected to end in early December 2024.

Osman said “We have tapped FLSmidth to undertake a comprehensive technical audit of the plant, which will assess how to maximise the capacity and inform the design and cost of a new one,'' Osman said. “The audit by FLSmidth will also look at the reserves of raw materials that it has and inform whether it needs to acquire more land that has adequate reserves.”