Global Cement News

India: HeidelbergCement India, part of Germany-based Heidelberg Materials, reported a standalone net profit of US$5.5m for the quarter ending 30 June 2025. This represented a 20.9% year-on-year rise compared to US$4.5m in the same period in 2024. The net revenue of the company rose by 12.3% to US$68.6m, while its operating profit surged by 13.4% to US$10.2m.

Saudi Arabia: Arabian Cement recorded a net profit of US$11.8m in the first half of 2025, a 46.9% year-on-year fall. The company’s revenues reached US$126m for the same period, a 16.9% rise. In the second quarter of 2025, Arabian Cement recorded a 20.1% lower net profit year-on-year at US$5.5m, despite a 32.9% increase in revenues to US$62.1m.

Morocco: Cement sales increased by 9.8% in the first half of 2025, according to the Department of Financial Studies and Forecasts (DEPF). Growth was driven by a 19.2% year-on-year rise in deliveries to ready-mix concrete companies, a 17.1% rise in sales to precast concrete producers, a 6.4% rise in infrastructure sales and a 6.1% rise in general distribution.

Uganda: A group of workers from Tororo Cement staged a protest on 28 July 2025, in which they demanded better pay and improved working conditions. The workers, mainly from the kiln section, called on management to increase their wages in light of the rising cost of living. They are also seeking to be considered for full-time employment and for improvements in workplace safety and conditions.

The protest was suspended after management offered a 10% salary increase, lower than the 17% initially proposed by the workers’ union. Patricia Chemutai, the company’s Human Resource Officer, expressed surprise at the demonstration, saying that negotiations had already been underway when the protests began. Chemutai noted that the disagreement stemmed from the union’s initial demand of a 30% salary increase, which management found ‘excessive.’

France: Vicat’s sales remained stable at €1.89bn on a like-for-like basis in the first half of 2025. This was attributed to negative currency exchange effects in Brazil, Egypt and Türkiye, and a slowdown in activity in the US. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 2% year-on-year to €331m from €353m in the same period in 2024. Cement and concrete sales volumes dropped by 2.5% to 13.7Mt and 3.9% to 4.4Mm³ respectively. Aggregates volumes rose by 5.8% to 11.3Mt. By region sales revenue and earnings fell in France yet rose in the rest of Europe and the Mediterranean. It fell elsewhere.

“The group continues to implement its market plan, with the start-up of Kiln 6 in Senegal, a major driver of the group’s organic growth, development in the construction chemicals business with the merger between VPI and Cermix, and the acquisition of Realmix, which strengthens the group’s vertical integration in Brazil,” said Guy Sidos, Vicat’s chair and CEO.