September 2024
Xavier Guesnu appointed as CEO of Lafarge France 28 February 2024
France: Holcim has appointed Xavier Guesnu as the CEO of Lafarge France. He succeeds François Petry, who is leaving the group.
Guesnu started his international career at Legrand before joining Bain & Company in 2005. He joined Lafarge in 2010 as the head of strategic business development and mergers and acquisitions. Operational management roles followed first in eastern Canada as managing director from 2013, then as the managing director of Holcim Poland from 2018. He holds an engineering degree from the École des Mines de Paris.
Cementos Molins makes appointments as part of digital strategy 28 February 2024
Spain: Cementos Molins has appointed Javier Sueiras Gil as its Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Rocco Lisi has joined the company as its Digital Manager. The appointments have been made as part of the cement producer’s digital strategy and its efforts to improve operational efficiency. Its digitalisation plan includes over 50 initiatives in areas such as artificial intelligence applied to the industry and multi-channel approaches to improve customer relationships.
Javier Sueiras Gil has worked for Cementos Molins since the late 1990s. He first held the post of Operations Director before later becoming Vice President Information Technology and the company’s joint CIO and Chief Digital Officer in 2015. He is a graduate in industrial engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and has taken further business qualifications subsequently at the
IESE Business School and Esade/Georgetown University.
Rocco Lisi started work for Cementos Molins as its Digital Manager in mid-2023. Prior to this he spent 20 years working for Accenture, eventually becoming its Digital Transformation Director. He is a graduate of the University of Naples Federico II with business qualifications from the Sales Business School and the Valley Digital Business School.
Rohith Chintawar appointed as Chief Digital Officer at Prism Johnson 28 February 2024
India: Prism Johnson has appointed Rohith Chintawar as its Chief Digital Officer. Prior to this he worked as Head Digital Transformation at HIL. Earlier in his career he held positions in consulting and analysis for Hitachi Consulting and Deloitte.
Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Cement Company has appointed Mohammed Fouad appointed as its Business Excellence Director.
Fouad has worked for Riyadh Cement Company since 2021 as its Planning and Development Manager. Prior to this he worked a plant manager for Groupe SEB in Egypt and in technical management roles for Smart Systems for Factories Operation and Maintenance in Jordan. Cement sector roles in his career include working as a ‘Production and Operation Expert’ for LafargeHolcim from 2008 to 2016 and a Production Engineer for Cimpor from 2004 to 2008 in Egypt. He is a graduate in chemical engineering from Alexandria University and holds a master’s in business administration from the Paris ESLSCA Business School.
Türkiye: Aşkale Çimento has appointed Furkan Sağlam as its Marketing and Sales Chief. He has worked at the company since 2000 in sales and marketing roles. Prior to this he worked for Gözen Holding. He holds business administration degrees from Giresun University in Türkiye and Uniwersytet WSB Merito Gdańsk in Poland.
Holcim publishes 2023 results 28 February 2024
Switzerland: Holcim recorded a 7.5% drop in sales to US$30.6bn in 2023, ‘largely’ due to its divestment of its cement businesses in India and Brazil. On a like-for-like basis, its sales rose by 6.1%. The group’s earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 0.2% to US$5.4bn, but by 15% like-for-like. It attributed this both to price rises and cost-saving measures in its cement and concrete operations. Net profit fell by 7.5% to €3.47bn, including a €1.7bn special gain from its Indian divestment. Holcim says that it implemented its Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth two years ahead of schedule.
Adbri reports sales and earnings growth in 2023 28 February 2024
Australia: Adbri reported 13% year-on-year growth in sales to US$1.25bn in 2023, up from US$1.1bn in 2022. The company's earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 5.2% to US$193m. The year marked the successful launch of its EcoCem and Futurecrete reduced-CO2 cement and concrete ranges. At the end of the year, Adbri’s ongoing US$255 – 277m upgrade to its Kwinana grinding plant was 70% complete.
Deputy chair Samantha Hogg and CEO Mark Irwin said “In 2023 we took significant steps to refocus and reshape our organisation to support a more resilient Adbri and to invest in our future. Our focus on best‑in-class customer solutions and margin recovery has supported a strong full-year financial result.”
Taiwan Cement Corporation exceeds profit forecast in 2023 28 February 2024
Taiwan: Taiwan Cement Corporation's sales were US$3.45bn in 2023. Smartkarma Newswire has reported that this is 1.4% lower than its forecast of US$3.5bn. Nonetheless, the company’s profit exceeded its expectations by 3.6%, at US$316m.
Cosmos Cementos completes cooling system upgrade at Toral De Los Vados cement plant 28 February 2024
Spain: India-based Nasequip Systems says that it has successfully commissioned a new dual fluid gas cooling system at Cosmos Cementos’ Toral De Los Vados cement plant. The supplier said that the upgrade will help to increase productivity and efficiency. It thanked Türkiye-based DAL Engineering for selecting its equipment.
Taiwan Cement (Dutch) Holdings pays €65m to acquire Cimpor stake 28 February 2024
Portugal: Taiwan Cement (Dutch) Holdings paid €65m to acquire its new stake in Cimpor, Reuters has reported. Parent company Taiwan Cement Corporation agreed to buy current majority shareholder OYAK Çimento’s 60% stake in Cimpor for €480m in November 2023.