Global Cement News

US: UK-based Breedon Group says that it is seeking a ‘beachhead’ acquisition from which to build its own building materials business in the Eastern US. CEO Rob Wood said that the top 10 US building materials companies control 40% of the market there, compared to 75% of the UK market being controlled by five leading companies. The Times newspaper has reported that Breedon Group is due to join the UK’s FTSE 250 share index in September 2023. The producer noted the slow progress of proposed reforms to UK building standards, which it says would enable it to reduce its non-fuel CO₂ emissions by 25%. It also said that the government may fail to co-adopt EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) measures, leaving the UK market more open for third-party exporters of cement and other heavy materials.

Wood said “The North American market has big growth opportunities, backed by the certainty of infrastructure investment.”

Colombia: Holcim (Colombia) says that it has achieved 100% coverage of its cement and concrete range with environmental product declarations (EPDs).

CEO Marco Maccarelli said "This is in line with our global commitment to be a zero carbon company, and a vision of what we can contribute to sustainable construction in Colombia and the world.” He added "We want this new step we are taking to not only have a positive impact on the work of our customers, but also to contribute to sustainable construction, to obtaining environmental certifications for buildings and to inspiring the entire industry to work towards a more sustainable world today and in the future."

Iraq: China-based Sinoma International Engineering has won a contract to build a 2.19Mt/yr cement plant in Samawa, Muthanna, for Al-Diyar Company for Cement Industry and Industrial Investment. Yicai Global News has reported that Sinoma International Engineering will carry out engineering, procurement and construction on the project. The value of the contract is US$220m.

Australia: Boral’s sales were US$2.28bn in the 2023 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2023. This corresponds to a 38% year-on-year rise from the previous first half. The group’s net profit dropped by 1.3% to US$96.6m. It noted a rise in its costs of energy, labour and transport, which it expects to continue up to the end of June 2024, and possibly on throughout the second half of 2024.

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper has reported that Australian residential construction activity dropped by 7.7% month-on-month in June 2023. Boral CEO Vik Bansal said that the company expects residential, commercial and civil construction to return to growth in the 2024 financial year.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded consolidated sales of US$2.59bn during the first half of 2023, up by 51% year-on-year from US$2.37bn in the first half of 2022. The group reported that cement demand was ‘strong’ in the US and ‘stable’ in Spain, however the Brazilian and Canadian markets were ‘challenging.’ Its costs also rose, by 4.2% to US$2.1bn from US$2.02bn. Despite this, Votorantim Cimentos’ net profit grew by a factor of 11, to US$112m from US$10.1m.