France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has announced the signing of a supply contract with precast concrete structural engineers CAPREMIB. It says that the contract covers the supply of a minimum volume of low-carbon cement for the production of wooden concrete sound barriers for use in stadia and public spaces such as underground stations.

Co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffman said, “We are delighted to have signed this contract with CAPREMIB, a highly innovative player in the construction sector. This partnership follows months of technical tests, and will allow the CAPREMIB group to produce wooden concrete acoustic screens with a lower carbon footprint. Combining wood and concrete in the manufacturing of this type of product meets market expectations and illustrates our ability to continually increase the growing number of applications for our technologies.”

India: ACC’s profit in the first quarter of the Indian 2021 fiscal year (1 April 2020 – 30 June 2020) was US$36.3m, down by 40% year-on-year from US$60.9m. Sales fell by 38% to US$338m from US$544m. This was due to a 33% fall in cement volumes to 4.80Mt from 7.16Mt and a fall in cement prices.

Philippines: John Stull, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Holcim Philippines, says that the subsidiary of LafargeHolcim is no longer being considered for divestment. He made the comments at the company’s annual shareholders meeting, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper.

“Holcim Philippines will remain with the major shareholder of LafargeHolcim and we will grow with the company and with the country," he said. Still added that the cement producer was making long-term plans to boost the production capacity of its plants in Luzon and Mindanao. LafargeHolcim’s attempt to sell its majority stake in Holcim Philippines to San Miguel Corporation for US$2.15bn collapsed in May 2020 after the Philippines Competition Authority (PCC) failed to approve the deal within 12 months of its conclusion.

Spain: Total domestic cement consumption was 6.19Mt in the first half of 2020, down by 17% year-on-year from 7.41Mt in the first half of 2019. Interempresas News has reported that the coronavirus lockdown caused consumption in the period to decrease. June consumption rose by 5.2% to 1.34Mt from 670,000t in June 2019.

Oficemen president Victor García Brosa said, “In June 2020 many of the works paralysed during the confinement, for example real estate developments, were resumed, but the monthly positive data should not make us think of a recovery in the sector." He added, “We continue to insist that construction is the driving force for the employment that our country needs right now and cannot continue to be forgotten by the administration. Other sectors such as the automotive or tourism sectors already have contingency plans activated, while ours continues to be largely forgotten, even though it could generate a significant volume of jobs.”