Global Cement News

Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas has made a donation worth Euro3000 of nappies and baby food to the Alcala de Guadaira Social Services Centre. The Association of Children's Resources Ropero del Socorro de la Hermandad de Jesus, Cáritas and the Red Cross will be responsible for distribution.

The company said that it was “aware of the severity of the crisis that Covid-19 is generating, so decided to contact the Alcalá de Guadaíra City Council to make itself available to them and find out in which area the greatest needs were located.” It said, “As a result of this coordination, it was agreed to donate basic children's products, such as food and nappies.”

Nigeria: BUA Cement has donated six transformer units with a total capacity of 400kW to Okpella Community in Edo State. The Daily Independent newspaper has reported that the company’s aim is to improve local access to electricity.

Managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Yusuf Binji said, “Our commitment to sustainability, sustainable development goals and sustainable business practices will remain critical to our business at BUA Cement. We will keep pursuing an inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable environment. corporate social responsibility is how we colour the lives of those around us.”

China: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim has announced the formation of green building solutions partnership with Southeast University (SEU) in Nanjing for research into concretes and mortars for use in 3D printing in construction. The company says that the partnership is a step towards achieving its aim of becoming a “full 3D printing solutions provider.”

Head of research and development Edelio Bermejosaid, “Our global network of academic partners is critical in helping us think outside the box. We need the brightest minds to help us lead the next frontier of building solutions.”

Italy: Caltagirone Group company Cementir Holding sold 7.7Mt of grey cement, white cement and clinker in the first nine months of 2020, up by 11% year-on-year from 6.9Mt in the first nine months of 2019. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 2% over the period, to Euro178m from Euro182m, while sales also declined, by 1% to Euro897m from Euro906m.

One notable region where the trend was reversed was Egypt, where, in spite of a 2.5% fall in cement and clinker volumes, EBITDA rose by 40% to Euro6.81m from Euro4.86m and sales rose by 16% to Euro31.3m from Euro27.1m. EBITDA also rose in the Nordic and Baltic, Turkey, China and Asia-Pacific regions.

Chief executive officer (CEO) and chair Francesco Caltagirone said, “Results significantly improved in the third quarter, with cement up by 19% and EBITDA up by 12% compared to the third quarter of 2019.”

Greece: Titan Cement recorded earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Euro229m in the first nine months of 2020, up by 10% year-on-year from Euro208m in the first nine months of 2019. Its sales fell slightly to Euro1.20bn from Euro1.21bn. The group noted “resilient sales volumes across most of our markets, ” including “strong domestic and export growth in Turkey and improving demand in Brazil.”

Dimitri Papalexopoulos, chair of the group executive committee said, “We are successfully addressing several challenges at the same time: taking care of our people and those around us, delivering improved operating results and accelerating progress against our sustainability ambitions. Despite the uncertain context, we remain confident in the solidity of our business model, based on the nature of construction activity, our track record in facing the pandemic and the resilience and dedication of our people.’’