Germany: Bernd Scheifele has decided to step down as chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement in February 2020 after 15 years in the post. He will be succeeded by Dominik von Achten, the current deputy chairman. Scheifele will then be proposed for election as successor to the chairman of the supervisory board at the annual general meeting 2022.

In other changes to the group’s managing board, Lorenz Näger will remain chief financial officer (CFO) until May 2022 and then become deputy chairman of the managing board. Jon Morrish, previously the head of North America, will take on responsibility for Western and Southern Europe from Von Achten in 2020. Chris Ward, currently head of the Canada region, will be promoted to the managing board and take on responsibility for North America from Jon Morrish. Ernest Jelito, currently the head of HeidelbergCement’s activities in Poland, will be promoted to the managing board and take on responsibility for Northern and Eastern Europe-Central Asia from Albert Scheuer, who will leave the managing board in August 2019.

“The changes in 2020 are part of long-term succession planning for the Supervisory Board and Managing Board of HeidelbergCement,” said Fritz-Jürgen Heckmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HeidelbergCement AG. “Since assuming office in 2005, Dr Bernd Scheifele has decisively shaped the Group and successfully moved it into new dimensions both operationally and strategically. By introducing effective management processes and a lean organisation, he significantly increased the competitiveness of HeidelbergCement, propelling us to the forefront of the industry. He has also overseen expansion of our geographic footprint and the scope of our core activities and made HeidelbergCement the leading vertically integrated building materials company globally,” said Fritz-Jürgen Heckmann, chairman of the supervisory board of HeidelbergCement. He added that the changes in 2020 are part of long-term succession planning for the supervisory board and managing board of HeidelbergCement,”

Dominik von Achten has served as the deputy chairman of the managing board since 2015. He has been a member of the Managing Board since 2007 with responsibility for North America Group area and other topics. Currently, he is in charge of the Western and Southern Europe Group area and the Competence Center Materials. As Chief Digital Officer, he also oversees the digital transformation and digital ventures.

Lorenz Näger has been the CFO of HeidelbergCement since 2004. In addition, he is the head of finance, accounting, controlling, tax, treasury, insurances and risk management, information technology (IT) and shared service centre.

Ernest Jelito joined HeidelbergCement in 1982 and held various technical and management positions before taking over as Director Global HTC in 2009. Since 2015 he has worked as General Manager Poland.

Chris Ward has been with the group since 1996, holding various management positions in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas before taking on responsibility for the aggregates business in the Southeast region of the US. Currently, he is responsible for the Canada region in the North America Group area.

India: Bimlendra Jha has been appointed as the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ambuja Cement, with immediate effect.

He joins the subsidiary of LafargeHolcim from Tata Steel where he has spent nearly three decades of his career. Over the past six years, he has held multiple leadership roles, including Executive Chairman Long Products Europe, Executive Director on the Board of Tata Steel Europe and CEO Tata Steel UK, looking after operations in UK, Sweden, and Canada.

He holds a B. Tech in Ceramic Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management, Marketing and Finance from the Xavier School of Management Jamshedpur.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement has appointed Guillaume Moyen as its chief financial officer (CFO) for operations. He was the CFO of UAE-based OLA Energy from 2014 to early 2019, according to Bloomberg. He will report to group CFO Brian Egan.

France: Vicat’s sales rose slightly to Euro2.58bn in 2018 from Euro 2.56bn in 2017. Its cement sales volumes fell slightly to 22.8Mt and its ready-mix concrete sales volumes decreased by 6.7% year-on-year to 9.04Mm³. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 2.2% to Euro435m from Euro444m. However, at constant scope and exchange rates its sales and earnings rose by 5.9% and 2.7% respectively.

“Vicat delivered a satisfying performance in 2018, in a very mixed operating environment that saw large seasonal variations. The dynamism of the group’s sales teams, combined with a very firm grip on costs, allowed us to limit the consequences of the monetary and geopolitical difficulties affecting some of our markets,” said Guy Sidos, the group’s chairman and chief executive office (CEO). He added that the company had also reduced its debt in 2018 and purchased Ciplan in Brazil.

The group reported growth in France in all businesses and good sales in Kazakhstan, India and Turkey. Improvement was noted in the US, despite weather issues, and Senegal. There was a slight fall in sales in Europe, excluding France, and Egypt experienced a ‘sharp’ fall in sales and volumes.

India: JSW Cement plans to invest over US$275m towards meeting its target production capacity of 20Mt/yr by 2020. Following this achievement it intends to launch an initial public officer (IPO), according to the Economic Times newspaper. The company aims to reach its capacity target through expansions and upgrades at its existing plants.

At present the cement producer has a capacity of 12.6Mt/yr. It will add 1.8Mt/yr at Dolvi, 1.8Mt/yr at Vijayanagar, 1.2Mt/yr at Jajpur in Odisha and 1.2Mt/yr in Salboni. Following the IPO it will build new capacity in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

India/Pakistan: Cement importers in India have asked exporters in Pakistan to stop their consignments following a 200% rise in tariffs for cement and other products in India. The duties have been imposed in response to an attack on police in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir in mid-February 2019, according to the Dawn newspaper. A source quoted by the newspaper said that cement shipments are being recalled on route to destinations in India.

Around 75% of Pakistan's cement exports to India are conducted at the Wagah land border, while the rest are handled at sea. Exports to India between July - January of the current financial year were 0.65Mt and exports in 2017 -2018 were 1.2Mt.

Angola: Cimenfort plans to build a new cement plant at Cabinda. The site will have an area of 51 hectares and create 150 news jobs, according to the Mercado newspaper. The country has a total cement production capacity of 8Mt/yr.

Germany: Poor weather in the US and lower asset sales than expected reduced HeidelbergCement’s earnings in 2018. Its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 6.8% year-on-year Euro3.07bn in 2018 from Euro3.3bn in 2017. Its revenue rose by 4.7% to Euro18.1bn from Euro17.3bn. Cement sales volumes grew by 3.4% to 130Mt from 126Mt and ready-mix concrete volumes increased by 3.7% to 49Mm3 from 47.2Mm3.

“In operational terms, we were almost able to offset the impact of adverse weather conditions, particularly in the US, and the higher than expected cost inflation through growth in sales volumes and price increases,” said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board. He added that the company achieved record sales volumes and revenues in 2018. He also said that its action plan is producing its first results, with a reduction in debt to below Euro8.4bn due to portfolio ‘optimisation’ and spending discipline.

By region the group reported that construction activity in North America was hampered by a long winter in the north and heavy rainfall, particularly in the north and southwest of the US. A ‘strong’ level of construction was noted in the group’s Northern and Eastern Europe-Central Asia Group area leading to revenue increases. In Asia-Pacific its operating EBITDA fell by 4.4% due in part to high competition in Indonesia and infrastructure project delays in Thailand. Cement sales volumes growth was reported in most counties in Sub-Saharan Africa.

India: Ambuja Cement’s earnings fell in 2018 due to rising energy and fuel costs. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim says it has implemented efficiency and cost saving programs to mitigate these effects. Its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 6% year-on-year to US$265m in 2018 from US$266m in 2017. Despite this, the company’s sales volumes of cement grew by 5% to 24.2Mt from 23Mt. Its sales revenue rose by 7% to US1.54bn from US$1.44bn. Overall, the consolidated results for both Ambuja Cement and its fellow subsidiary ACC, saw growth in EBITDA, net sales and sales volumes of cement.

Colombia: Poor weather in the US reduced Cementos Argos’ sales revenue in 2018. Its sales revenue fell by 1.4% year-on-year to US$2.7bn in 2018 from US$2.74bn in 2017. Cement sales volumes decreased by 1.1% to 16Mt from 16.2Mt. The cement producer said that its cement volumes in the US were impacted by weather and a 43 day halt at its Martinsburg Plant in Texas, US. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 8% to US$494m from US$457m. This was in part due to an improved Colombian construction market.