Ivory Coast: Dangote Cement has announced the imminent commissioning of its 3Mt/yr grinding plant in Ivory Coast, which it says will take place in the third quarter of 2025. The company says that the investment is part of its drive to enhance its regional presence in West Africa. The company’s CEO Arvin Pathak noted that the plant will streamline and provide flexibility to Dangote’s exports in West Africa, which grew by 18.2% in the first half of 2025.

Dangote Cement is Africa’s largest cement producer, with a capacity of 48.6Mt/yr. It already operates in more than 10 African markets, including Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Ghana.

Spain: FCC recorded net attributable profit of €80.7m in the first half of 2025, 71% lower year-on-year than the €279m for the same period of 2024. The group explained that the reduction was due to the financial spin-off of its cement and real estate divisions (now Inmocemento) and unfavourable exchange rate fluctuations. Between January and June 2025, FCC's consolidated net revenue amounted to €4.56bn, a 7.6% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials revenue grew by 4% year-on-year to €10.4bn in the first half of 2025 from €9.99bn in the same period in 2024. Its result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation (RCOBD) rose by 5.6% to €1.93bn from €1.83bn. By region revenue and RCOBD rose everywhere except for Pacific Asia and North America respectively.

Dominik von Achten, chair of Heidelberg Materials, said “Next to price adjustments, our strict cost management has proven particularly effective in the second quarter. Our ongoing Transformation Accelerator initiative is fully on track and has helped us to grow our earnings once again with further increasing cost savings… Even though demand is still volatile in some regions, we expect that stabilisation in our core markets is continuing.”

The group opened the world's first industrial-scale carbon capture and storage unit at its Brevik cement plant in Norway in June 2025. Production also started in May 2025 at its calcined clay plant joint-venture in Ghana. In July 2025 the group commenced operations at an industrial pilot plant for enforced carbonation in Górażdże, Poland.

Switzerland: Holcim’s net sales fell by 2.2% year-on-year to €8.46bn in the first half of 2025 from €8.65bn in the same period in 2024. However, sales rose by 1.8% when adjusted for local currencies. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 3% to €1.55bn from €1.50bn. By region sales and earnings rose on an adjusted basis in all territories except in Europe. Here the group said “There is a robust infrastructure project pipeline, and the residential sector is showing signs of recovery.”

The group completed the spin-off of its North America-based business in late June 2025. The group is now promoting its NextGen Growth 2030 strategy, released in March 2025, to advance the business. Also during the reporting period, Holcim made four acquisitions in the aggregates sector: Tribex in Serbia; Klokotnitsa IM EOOD and Zhablyano AD, both in Bulgaria; and SA.RE.MER in France. Its Building Solutions made six acquisitions: Compañía Minera Luren in Peru; Algimouss in France; CPC AG in Germany; Horcrisa in Argentina; and Société des Bétons de la Vallée de Seine (SBVS) in France. It also closed the divestment of Karbala Cement Manufacturing in Iraq.

Greece: Titan sales remained stable at €1.33bn in the first half of 2025 due to strong sales in Greece and Egypt. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 2% year-on-year to €287m from €281m in the same period in 2024. Sales and earnings fell in the US due to poor weather and a subdued residential market. In Egypt the group noted a ‘construction boom’ connected to foreign investment in tourism-related developments. During the reporting period the company completed the divestment of its stake in Türkiye-based Adocim.

India: Ambuja Cements consolidated revenue rose by 23% year-on-year to US$1.17bn in the first quarter of its 2026 financial year (FY2026), from US$0.96bn in the same period in the 2025 year. Its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 53% to US$223m in the period to 30 June 2025 from US$146m previously. Sales volumes of cement increased by 20% to 18.4Mt from 15.3Mt.

Vinod Bahety, the CEO of Ambuja Cements, said: “Our first quarter results are more than numbers - they reflect a vibrant mood, a transformation narrative rooted in speed, scale and sustainability.” He added, “As we march towards 140Mt/yr ecosystem by FY2028, we remain focused on reimagining cement as a solutions-driven customer-centric business.” The company says it currently has a cement production capacity of 105Mt/yr. It is working towards increasing this to 118Mt/yr by March 2026.

Spain: Molins sales revenue fell by 5% year-on-year top €659m in the first half of 2025 due to negative currency exchange effects in Mexico and Argentina. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 8% to €175m. However, both sales and earnings rose if adjusted for currency effects due to price rises and good performance otherwise in Europe and South America.

Marcos Cela, the CEO of Molins, said, "The results for the first half of 2025 reflect the strength of our business model, capable of responding firmly in a complex global environment, which has continued to be marked by economic uncertainty and currency volatility.” In June 2025 the group said it had spent €100m on expansion in the precast concrete sector by buying Portugal-based precast concrete producer Concremat and by starting to build a new plant in Spain.

Canada: Ash Grove, part of CRH, and Carbon Upcycling Technologies have broken ground on a carbon capture and utilisation unit at the Mississauga cement plant in Ontario. The project will use Carbon Upcycling's technology to sequester CO₂ from the cement kiln and use it to turn industrial byproducts into supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). Once operational in 2026, the facility will have the capacity to produce up to 30,000t/yr of SCMs.

"Carbon 1 Mississauga is a milestone in our journey to build world-leading, domestic supply chains in North America. It will stand as a testament to the shared commitment of our team, our partners at CRH and Ash Grove, and the local community who share our vision for a resilient, clean tomorrow,” said Apoorv Sinha, CEO of Carbon Upcycling.

The Carbon 1 Mississauga project is being delivered through a multi-stakeholder collaboration. CRH Ventures, the venture capital unit of CRH, has invested in Carbon Upcycling and is playing a role in scaling the company's technology. The project has been awarded around US$7m in federal government funding from the Next Generation Manufacturing's Sustainable Manufacturing Program, the Environment and Climate Change Canada's Low-Carbon Economy Fund and is receiving advisory services and funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program.

Sri Lanka: KPN Cement Lanka has launched a fly ash cement product in conjunction with Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement. The product, called Taishi Cement, will be available for large-scale infrastructure projects, real estate developments and government initiatives, according to the Daily Financial Times newspaper. KPN Cement Lanka and Taiheiyo Cement are also intending to promote an awareness programme for sustainable construction practices in the country.

Taiheiyo Cement launched an export hub for blended cements in June 2025 called the Saiki Ash Center in Saiki City, Oita Prefecture. The site is intended to export fly ash-based blended cement products to Southeast Asia. It has an export capacity 0.8Mt/yr.

This week Aliko Dangote retired as the chair of Dangote Cement. It’s a big deal, as Dangote founded parent company Dangote Industries in 1981 as an importer of bagged cement and other commodities such as rice, sugar, flour and salt. Over 40 years later Dangote Cement is the biggest cement company in Africa with a reported capacity of 52Mt/yr, operations in at least 10 countries and annual revenues of US$2.3bn. Dangote personally has also become Africa’s richest inhabitant along the way. It’s an extraordinary achievement.

As CEO Arvind Pathak, said in the company’s half-year report, “We celebrate our president, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who now steps down from the board, for his pivotal and transformative role in shaping the company’s growth, success, and lasting legacy. His visionary leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and unwavering commitment laid the very foundation of our journey. Under his guidance, the company achieved remarkable milestones, expanded its footprint, and set new standards of excellence across the industry.” Dangote is aged 68 years and his successor as chair of Dangote Cement, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, is aged 76 years.

The key acquisitions started in 2000, when the company purchased a controlling stake in Benue Cement following its privatisation. Then, in 2002, it bought Obajana Cement and started up its first production line at the site by 2007. Obajana has since become the group’s largest plant in Nigeria with a production capacity of 16.3Mt/yr across four lines. The company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2010. Dangote Cement set up other plants in Nigeria and the Cement Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (CMAN) declared that the country was ‘self-sufficient’ in cement in 2012. Dangote the cement importer had become Dangote the cement producer. Then it became Dangote the cement exporter when it established its first overseas cement terminal in Ghana in 2011. Finally, it became Dangote the cement multinational when production plants outside of Nigeria started to be built in the early 2000s with units in Senegal and South Africa starting up in 2014. Today, in 2025, Dangote Cement has operations in Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

Naturally, one doesn’t build a conglomerate as large and successful as Dangote Industries without dividing opinion along the way. Issues on the cement side of the business include criticism of how Dangote managed to beat his rivals to buy government-run cement companies in the early 2000s. To be fair to Dangote though, other companies including Blue Circle and HeidelbergCement did the same thing at this time. Arguments about this issue resurfaced publicly in 2022 when the Kogi State Government took Dangote Cement to court over its ownership of the Obajana plant in relation to tax revenue.

Another issue in Nigeria in recent years has been repeated arguments about the price of cement. Despite the country becoming ‘self-sufficient’ in cement, the cost has prompted scrutiny by legislators. Meanwhile, Dangote Cement has continued to make handsome profits year after year. Outside of Nigeria, Dangote’s expansion plans haven’t always gone smoothly. Its plans to open a plant in Kenya, for example, appear to have been stymied repeatedly. Infamously, Dangote himself allegedly described Kenya as being more corrupt than Nigeria to Kenyan media. A long heralded listing on the London Stock Exchange never happened and acquisitions outside of Africa are yet to occur. Looking forward, future challenges include newer entrants into the Sub-Saharan African cement such as those from China. A sign of challenges to come include the pending acquisition of Lafarge Africa by Huaxin Cement as China continues to attempt to export its cement production ambitions.

As Aliko Dangote steps down as chair from his cement business, the potential for both his company and the continent it is based in remains high. Demographic factors favour economic growth in Africa in the 21st Century due to its growing population and need for development. This will require plenty of cement and Dangote Cement is well positioned to supply it.

And finally… some people take up gardening in their retirement. Should Dangote become bored in his retirement from the cement business though he could consider the example of the former CEO of Ireland-based CRH. It was announced last week that Albert Manifold has been appointed as the chair of oil and gas company BP. Dangote Group already operates an oil refinery. Perhaps future opportunities beckon.