Global Cement News

Argentina: An investment group presided over by Argentina-based businessman Marcelo Mindlin has moved one step closer to becoming the new owner of the cement company Loma Negra. The local group is negotiating the acquisition of Loma Negra shares that are currently in the hands of InterCement, the cement company of the Brazil-based holding company Camargo Corrêa. If the deal goes through, Mindlin will control 52% of Loma Negra’s shares, while the remaining shares are listed on the Buenos Aires and New York stock exchanges.

InterCement said in late July 2025 that it had reached an agreement in principle to negotiate the sale of the shares of Loma Negra, within the framework of a restructuring of its liabilities. The deadline for the completion of negotiations is 15 August 2025. Subsidiary Loma Negra is the leading cement producer in Argentina, with a market share of close to 45%. The company will celebrate its centenary in 2026.

Bangladesh: LafargeHolcim Bangladesh has reported a strong financial performance in the second quarter of 2025 and first half of 2025. The company recorded a 4% year-on-year growth in revenue in the first half, supported by strong market dynamics and ‘sustained trust’ in its brands. Its consolidated profit after tax for the second quarter increased by 20%. However, profitability was impacted by rising energy costs and falling cement prices, prompting cost-efficiency measures and strategic pricing reviews. It also noted that a specialised cement product, Water Protect and Fair Face, recorded 28% growth. The company reported that its diversification drive continued to yield results, including co-processing over 21,000t of waste via Geocycle, which replaced 11% of fossil fuels.

Vietnam: Local authorities have stated that a US$196m cement plant project in the northern Ninh Binh province has remained abandoned for 18 years. The 1.1Mt/yr Phu Son Cement Plant was launched in 2007 with plans to begin operations by 2011. Construction was halted in 2012 and never resumed, according to the Việt Nam News newspaper. The investor, Phu Son Cement JSC, chaired by a Czech national of Vietnamese origin, has not responded to government efforts since promising to restart work in 2017.

Authorities say that they have been unable to reclaim the 40-hectare site due to assets built on the land and the absence of a legal representative. Despite multiple attempts by provincial officials and ministries to resolve the matter, the project remains in limbo.

India: ACC, part of Adani Group, has reported a 4% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to US$43.3m in the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year, aided by a 12% in sales volumes. It reported a sales volume of 11.5Mt, its highest ever total for the period. This helped revenue increase by 17% to US$703m. The company added that higher sales of premium products aided the revenue.

It expects 6 - 7% growth in demand for cement over the course of its 2026 financial years. This is anticipated due to a rise in demand for affordable housing, higher spending on infrastructure and commercial sectors. "Cement demand growth in the first quarter of FY2026 remained strong at 4% amid favourable macroeconomic situations and sustained demand from housing and infrastructure segments. The outlook for the second quarter of FY2026 continues to remain strong," said ACC in a statement.

Portugal: Cimpor has reported the successful installation of a new KHD Pyrorotor combustion chamber at its Alhandra plant. It described the upgrade as a key milestone in the modernisation of Kiln 7 and in the company’s energy transition process.

The combustion chamber measures 3.4m in diameter and 10m in length, and weighs 146t. It will allow the replacement of fossil fuels with alternative fuels, enabling a thermal substitution rate of up to 80%. Its installation required a technically demanding operation, carried out using a 400t crawler crane. The work is part of a wider structural upgrade of Kiln 7, which also includes the modernisation of the existing kiln to a production capacity of 3600t/day, a new preheater tower with a five-stage cyclone, the installation of a Pyroclon calciner, a new clinker cooler and a new vertical raw mill.

Cimpor says that the investment will contribute directly to the reduction of the plant’s CO₂ emissions, fully aligned with the company’s decarbonisation goals and reinforcing the company’s commitment to the targets set out in its Recovery and Resilience Plan.