Australia: Boral’s earnings in the first half of its financial year have fallen as it has completed the sales of its North American fly ash business. Its revenue from continuing operations fell slightly to US$1.08bn in the six months to 31 December 2021. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for continuing operations dropped by 16% to US$138m from US$164m in the same period in 2020. Cement and concrete sales volumes remained stable and rose slightly respectively.

“With the completion of the divestment of our North American Fly Ash business on 11 February 2022, we have now finalised the strategic realignment of our portfolio to focus on our Australian construction materials business,” said Boral’s chief executive officer Zlatko Todorcevski. “We are focused on building a more competitive and profitable business that is positioned for success and delivers increased returns to shareholders.” He blamed falling earnings on construction shutdowns and growing energy prices despite changes to the business.

US: The supervisor of Santa Clara County in California has ordered a report by the county council setting out a plan for the acquisition of Lehigh Hanson’s Santa Clara cement plant and its associated quarry. If successful in acquiring the property, the administration would close down all operations there. The Mercury News has reported that the council will have until mid-May 2022 to produce its report. The supervisor called the facilities a ‘historical anachronism’ and said that the land, situated in the county’s Silicon Valley light industry region, might be used for housing.

Mexico: Cemex says that it will invest a total of US$1.3bn in its business in 2022. US$600m will go towards strategic growth, according to the company.

Chief executive officer Fernando Gondzález said "Overall in 2022, we anticipate a favourable environment with more moderate volume growth in most markets and solid pricing dynamics reflecting high capacity utilisation and input cost iteration. Finally, our objective is to recover margins in line with our goal of operational resilience with our pricing strategy.” He continued "Today, we are very prepared to handle the inflationary change. We have reflected cost pressures in our regular 2022 price announcements scheduled for January and April. We are also assuming that inflation is not transitory and are prepared to respond quickly to changes in the environment."

Spain: Cementos Molins has committed to a 20% reduction in its CO₂ emissions between 2020 and 2030. The company has set out its strategy in its 2030 Sustainability Roadmap. The roadmap covers five areas: health and safety, energy and climate change, the circular economy, nature and the environment, and corporate social responsibility. Thus, Cementos Molins aims to achieve an accident-free workplace, to source 55% of its electricity consumption renewably, to increase its alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate to 40% and reduce its cement’s clinker factor to 68%, to halve particulate matter emissions and cut nitrous oxides (NO_x) and sulphur oxides (SO_x) emissions by 40% and 10% respectively and to have signed official agreements with all host communities and employ women in over 23% of management positions.

Chief executive officer Julio Rodríguez said “Sustainability is the cornerstone of our strategy here at Cementos Molins, and today we are delighted to announce the specific targets that we have set out in our 2030 Sustainability Roadmap. The targets and their corresponding action plans - the result of the hard work and dedication of the Cementos Molins team, together with our stakeholders – will help drive our company forward in actively tackling climate change.” He added “We are deeply committed to achieving zero emissions and building a better world for everyone.”