27 March 2025

Europe/US: Titan Cement has reported sales of €2.64bn in 2024, up by 4% year-on-year, with growth across all product lines and regions, led by the US and Europe. The group recorded earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €592m, up by 10%, with gains from operating efficiencies, lower solid fuel costs and increased alternative fuel use. Net profit after tax stood at €315.3m. In February 2025, Titan completed the IPO of Titan America on the New York Stock Exchange, raising US$393m.

Sales in the fourth quarter grew by 1% year-on-year to €660m, with net profit after tax at €77.5m. Titan said it is on track to digitalise 100% of its plants by 2026.

UK: Drax Power has entered a 20-year joint venture agreement with Power Minerals to build a new facility to process pulverised fuel ash into supplementary cementitious material (SCM) for cement.

The facility will be located adjacent to Drax Power site and will produce 400,000t/yr of SCM for use in lower-carbon cement. Power Minerals will construct, own and operate the plant. Drax will supply ash, power and water, as well as share profits from SCM sales. There is no capital investment required by Drax.

Operations will begin by the end of 2026. Drax expects the project to generate incremental adjusted earnings by interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €6m annually between 2027 and 2046.

Iraq: Gebr. Pfeiffer has won an order to supply a vertical roller mill for the Al Amir cement plant in Najaf. The MVR 5000 R-4 raw mill with SLS 4500 VR classifier will grind 500t/hr of cement raw material from a fineness of 10% R to 0.090mm, drying it from 12% to below 0.5% moisture. The mill will be delivered via China-based contractor Sinoma Suzhou. Commissioning is scheduled for the second half of 2026.

Australia: The Australian government’s ‘unwillingness’ to impose a carbon levy on imported cement, lime and clinker is threatening decarbonisation efforts and could cost up to 1400 jobs, according to the Financial Review.

The Cement Industry Federation, which represents local producers Adbri, Boral and Cement Australia, has said that the absence of a carbon levy on imports from countries with less robust climate commitments paved the way for the offshoring of local manufacturing, a process known as ‘carbon leakage’.

It said “Not addressing the issue of carbon leakage in a timely manner will be detrimental to Australian cement and lime manufacturing and could lead to the unnecessary loss of key Australian cement and lime facilities."

Imports currently account for over 40% of domestic clinker consumption and originate largely from southeast Asia. In 2023, an energy expert was appointed by the government to assess the feasibility of an Australian carbon border adjustment mechanism, with a final recommendation expected to be delivered in 2024. However, only an interim report was released in November 2024, with the final advice now reportedly due after the election in May 2025.