Greece: Titan Cement reported increased sales during the first nine months of 2023. They grew by 14% year-on-year to Euro1.89bn. Sales rose by 24% in Greece and Western Europe, by 16% in the US and by 13% in Southeast Europe. However, they fell by 5.9% in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Meanwhile, the company’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 72% to Euro397m. Group net profit more than doubled to Euro198m. Titan Cement maintained a level of capital expenditure in line with that in the first nine months of 2022, at Euro158m.

Titan Cement maintained its positive growth outlook for the full year in 2023, but expects to experience the effects of an anticipated ‘temporary cooling’ in global economic activity in 2024. The producer said that Euro8bn-worth of investments in on-going infrastructure projects in Greece will likely help to offset these effects locally.

Tajikistan: President Emomali Rahmon has officially opened Tojikcement’s new plant in the Ismoili Somoni district of Dushanbe. The 1.2Mt/yr cement plant will replace the company’s existing production site in the city which is due to be closed. Products manufactured at the new unit will include cement of sulfate 500 and 400 brands. Construction work on the new plant started in 2019 and China-based Jiangsu Pengfei and Linsen was the main contractors.

Albania: The government will raise the tax on coal by a factor of five, to Euro0.15/kg. EmergingMarketWatch News has reported that the measure will bring Albania’s industrial products into line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s recommended minimum emissions tax of Euro55.8/t CO2. Without this, exporters to the EU would have to settle the difference.

South Africa: The Competition Tribunal has received a recommendation from the Competition Commission that it should allow aggregates producer Afrimat to acquire Lafarge South Africa. Creamer Engineering News has reported that the commission found that the merger involves ‘horizontal overlaps’ in the aggregates and ready-mix concrete sectors. As such, it recommended that the parties be required to divest assets across the affected sectors.