31 October 2025

France: The Lafarge group and several former senior officials will stand trial in Paris from 4 November 2025, accused of historically financing terrorist organisations, including Islamic State (IS). The aim of the alleged payments was to maintain operations at a cement plant in Jalabiya, northern Syria. The defendants include former CEO Bruno Lafont, five former managers and two Syrian intermediaries. They face charges of financing a terrorist enterprise and, for some, breaching international financial sanctions.

Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS), the group’s Syrian subsidiary, is suspected of paying several million Euros between 2013 and 2014 to jihadi groups IS and Jabhat al-Nusra to secure raw materials and allow the movement of employees and goods. The €680m Jalabiya plant, completed in 2010, continued operating until IS took control in September 2014, two years after most other multinationals had left Syria.

An internal investigation in 2017 found ‘violations of Lafarge’s business code of conduct.’ Lafarge, which merged with Holcim in 2015, has said the events predated the merger.  In October 2022, Lafarge pleaded guilty in the US to paying IS and Jabhat al-Nusra nearly US$6m and agreed to pay a US$778m penalty.

Former CEO Lafont has denied knowledge of the payments. His lawyers argue that the US plea “is a blatant attack on the presumption of innocence” and aimed to “preserve the economic interests of a large group.”

So far, 241 civil parties have joined the case. “More than ten years after the events, the former Syrian employees will finally be able to testify about what they endured: the checkpoint crossings, the kidnappings and the constant threat hanging over their lives,” said Sherpa legal officer Anna Kiefer. Lafarge faces a fine of up to €1.125m for financing terrorism, while penalties for violating the embargo could reach ten times the value of the offence. A separate investigation into alleged complicity in crimes against humanity in Syria and Iraq remains ongoing.

US: Eagle Materials reported ‘record’ revenues of US$639m for the second quarter of the 2026 financial year, ending on 30 September 2025. Net earnings were US$137m and adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$233m. Cement revenues, including joint venture and intersegment sales, rose by 9% to US$385m, while operating earnings increased by 3% to US$120m, partially offset by lower cement prices. Cement sales volumes grew by 8% to 2.2Mt.

President and CEO Michael Haack said “Eagle's portfolio of businesses continued to perform well during the quarter, generating record revenues of $639m. Our cement sales volume was up by 8% as demand remained strong, driven primarily by federal, state and local spending on public infrastructure projects and continued elevated spending across private non-residential construction end markets.”

He added “We enter the second half of fiscal 2026 well-positioned to capitalise on near-and-longer-term growth opportunities, including the future recovery of the housing market, given our strong balance sheet and continued investments in upgrading our assets and network. During the second quarter, we continued to make good progress on modernising and expanding our Mountain Cement plant, and the project remains on time and within budget. This investment will lower the plant's cost structure, improve its reliability and expand its production capabilities, which will strengthen our already low-cost competitive position.”

Denmark: FLSmidth has announced that it has now closed the sale of its cement business to an affiliate of global private equity firm Pacific Avenue Capital Partners. The company said that the transaction does not change its previously announced financial guidance for the full year 2025.

The company previously announced that it had entered into this agreement in June 2025, for a total value of €75m.

Uzbekistan: The Uzpromstroymaterialy Association reported that national cement production was 18Mt between January and September 2025, up by 28% year-on-year. Total installed capacity is now 40.5Mt/yr across 42 enterprises, an increase of 0.7Mt/yr from 2024. The rise in production of high-quality grades such as M-500 and M-600 cement led to an 89% decline in imports, which totalled 66,000t in the first nine months of 2025. Imports for the first half of 2025 were 38,000t, down by 91% from 2024.

Cement exports in the first nine months of 2025 were nearly 1.1Mt, almost four times higher than in the same period of 2024. The association said that the CIS free trade regime is supporting the expansion of foreign markets for Uzbek producers, while imports from CIS countries remain duty-free. It said that the competitiveness of domestic producers, their strong supply to the local market and rising export potential are strengthening Uzbekistan’s economic independence.

Italy: Federbeton, which represents the cement and concrete industry, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Assocarta, the association of paper, cardboard and pulp producers, to develop synergies in circular economy and decarbonisation initiatives.

The agreement aims to recover paper industry waste as a resource for reducing CO₂ emissions in cement production. Recycled waste and sludge will be used to produce solid fuel recovered (SRF). The protocol includes joint technical discussions to identify suitable recovery conditions, cooperation in securing national and EU funding and engagement with public authorities to improve regulatory frameworks.

Federbeton president Stefano Gallini said “If decarbonisation is a systemic challenge, achieving this goal necessarily requires collaboration and shared commitment. The agreement with Assocarta stems precisely from this awareness and is a concrete tool to accelerate the path towards carbon neutrality. Replacing fossil fuels with solutions like SRF represents an immediate opportunity for the environment, the community and the country's energy independence. It is a lever already widely adopted in Europe, where the average substitution rate is 56%. In Italy, we still stand at 26%, due to inconsistent application of regulations and cultural mistrust.”