06 March 2023

North Macedonia: Cementarnica Usje, part of Greece-based Titan Group has announced a 13% year-on-year fall in its net profit to Euro16.3m in 2022. It said that the decline in profit was a direct result of rising input prices.

Cementarnica Usje's operating expenses rose by 41% to US$100m in 2022, as costs for materials rose 67% to US$60m. Operating revenue grew by 25% to Euro108m. Domestic sales rose by 26% to Euro66.6m, while export sales rose by 26% to Euro37.3m.

Guinea: Employees from Diamond Cement began a strike on 2 March 2023. Sékouba Kouyaté, 1st delegate of the Diamond Cement workers' union, said “We have decided to go on strike under articles 431.1; 431.2; 431.3 and following of the labour code of the Republic of Guinea. To this end, it should be reiterated that the reason for this strike is the categorical refusal of the general management to open a framework for frank and credible dialogue. We pitifully deplore the fate of the workers working in this company from construction until now, more particularly in its intermediary companies that no longer comply with article 135.7 of the labor code. Enough is enough.”

Uzbekistan: A total of 14.6Mt of cement was produced in 2022, equivalent to 415kg/capita. The world average was 519kg/capita. Production rose by 69.3% between 2017 and 2022, in line with a 71.5% increase in construction rates.

Pakistan: Cement consumption fell by 7.1% year-on-year in February 2023 with total dispatches reaching 4.04Mt against 4.35Mt dispatched in February 2022. According to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement dispatches by the industry during February 2023 were 3.59Mt compared to 3.94Mt in February 2022, a decline of 9%. Exports increased by 11%, as volumes rose from 405,489t in February 2022 to 449,940t in February 2023.

In February 2023, cement plants in the north of Pakistan dispatched a total of 3.01Mt of cement, down by 7.4% against 3.26Mt in February 2022. Cement plants in the south of Pakistan dispatched 1.03Mt during February 2023, 6.1% less than 1.09Mt during February 2022.

Northern cement plants supplied 2.95Mt to the domestic market, an 8.3% fall, while southern plants sold 640,645t, a 12.0% fall. Exports from the north rose by 58.2% as quantities increased to 64,717t. Exports from the south increased by 5.7% to 385,223t.

An APCMA spokesperson said that the economic situation in the country was becoming more complicated with each passing day. “We are facing serious operational problems. We need timely supply of spare parts and consumable items to ensure stable operation of our plants and we urge the government to come-up with practically applicable and industry friendly policies to enable the industry to come out of this difficult situation.”

China: Hoffmann Green Cement, which produces clinker-free cement products has been granted a Chinese patent, No. CN 201880079822.X, for its clay-based H-EVA cement. The patent comes a year after a similar patent for its H-P2A binder.

H-EVA is a clinker-free cement that is based on an alkaline ettringitic technology. It uses activated clay and is presented in the form of a powder that can be stored in a silo. With a mechanical strength of up to 60MPa at 28 days, its strong technical performance makes it suitable for all types of concrete applications in buildings and on roads.

Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann, co-founders of Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies, said "Following the granting of a first patent for our H-P2A technology, we are delighted to announce the strengthening of our intellectual property in the Chinese market with the granting of a patent for our clay-based H-EVA cement. This confirms once again our technological lead and the relevance of our low-carbon solutions".