Morocco: Cement sales in Morocco fell by 11% in the first quarter of 2026, following a rise of 5% in the same period of 2025, according to a recent economic outlook report by The Directorate of Studies and Financial Forecasts. It said that cement deliveries rose by 3% in March 2026, after a fall of 13% in March 2025, indicating a return to growth despite weaker quarterly performance.

France: Lafarge will appeal its conviction for financing terrorist groups in Syria, following a ruling by the Paris Criminal Court ruling on 13 April 2026. According to the Paris Court of Appeal prosecutor’s office, the company and eight co-defendants, including former CEO Bruno Lafont, have filed appeals against the verdict. The court found that Lafarge had paid nearly €5.6m to armed groups, including ISIS, between 2013 and 2014 to maintain operations at its cement plant in Jalabiya, northern Syria.

The court fined the company €1.13m, the maximum penalty for the charge, and imposed a customs fine of €4.57m, for ‘violating international sanctions.’ Former CEO Bruno Lafont received a six-year prison sentence. He is currently being held at a Paris prison, where his request for release is set to be reviewed on 4 May 2026, according to French news channel BFMTV. Other defendants received prison sentences ranging from 18 months to seven years, including a Syrian intermediary who reportedly remains at large.

Vietnam: Vietnam exported 9.99Mt of cement and clinker in the first quarter of 2026, up by 21% year-on-year. These exports generated US$360m, also up by 21% year-on-year. The Philippines remained the largest export market with 801,000t, down by 61% compared to the first quarter of 2025, followed by Bangladesh with 903,000t, down by 45%. Exports to Malaysia rose by 29% to 487,000t, while shipments to Taiwan fell by 10% to 280,000t.

US: Amrize reported sales of US$2.18bn in the first quarter of 2026, up by 5% year-on-year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 10% to US$192m. The company said that growth was driven by higher cement and aggregates volumes, with cement volumes rising by 14% to 4.10Mt and aggregates volumes up by 14% to 17.8Mt. Building Materials sales rose by 13% to US$1.50bn, while segment EBITDA increased by 42% to US$170m. It sold 4.1Mt of cement in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 14% year-on-year increase from 3.6Mt. Amrize said that cement price increases were put in place in April 2026, as well as fuel surcharges to offset cost inflation.

Amrize confirmed its 2026 outlook, targeting sales of US$12.3bn-US$12.5bn and adjusted EBITDA of US$3.25bn-US$3.34bn.

CEO Jan Jenisch said “While this is a seasonally small quarter for Amrize, we are encouraged by our progress and the acceleration of customer demand in Building Materials. With growing new project starts and multi-year supply agreements for mega-projects, we achieved double-digit volume growth in cement and aggregates. Our Building Materials business is well positioned for 2026 and we are well positioned to capitalise on accelerating customer demand and deliver profitable growth.”