Saudi Arabia: City Cement’s net profit after Zakat and tax grew by 19% year-on-year to US$29.6m in 2018 from US$24.9m in 2017. It attributed the result to operational efficiency and a settlement it reached in late 2018 with China’s Sinoma International about the construction of a second production line. The cement producer’s sales fell by 36% to US$92m from US$143m due to low demand for cement and local competition.

Algeria: Aïn El-Kebira Cement Company has won the Algerian Quality Award for 2018. The government-issued award includes a prize of around Euro15,000, a trophy and a diploma of honour. The 1Mt/yr integrated cement plant is part of GICA Group, according to the El Moudjahid newspaper. The unit plans to start producing oil well cement in 2019. GICA Group exported 0.2Mt/yr of cement in 2018 and it plans to increase this to 0.8Mt/yr in 2019.

Saudi Arabia: Arabian Cement’s net sales fell by 34% year-on-year to US$160m in 2018 from US$241m in 2017. Its profit decreased by 89% to US$10.1m from US$93.2m. It blamed the fall in sales and profit on poor demand, increased competition, decreasing sales volumes and lowering prices.

Germany: Bischof + Klein will present a new product from its PowFlex product range at the Powtech trade fair in April 2019. The film and packaging developer will showcase its B+K PowFlex vs powder packaging product for the first time. This converted alternative to paper valve sacks supplements the B+K PowFlex product range for powder packaging. It is intended for the construction industry but other applications in the chemicals and foodstuff industries are also possible.