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ICRA, an Indian ratings agency, forecasts demand for cement to increase by 6.8% to 7% year-on-year in the 2015-2016 fiscal year as the economy and infrastructure industry recover.

ICRA also expects capacity usage of cement plants to rise from 72% in 2015-2016 to 77% in 2016-2017.

India's cement production has risen by 5.6% y-o-y in 2014-2015 compared to 3% in 2013-2014.

Nigeria-based Dangote Cement saw its turnover expand by 15.94% year-on-year to NGN 242.22billion (€1.11 billion/US$1.22 billion) in the first half of 2015.

During the same six-month period, the cement maker also reported a 21.65% surge in after-tax profit to register a NGN 121.81 billion value.

The company attributes its healthy half-year results to its recently implemented expansion plan which saw Dangote Cement commission plants in South Africa and Senegal.

The cement holding company Camargo Corrêa Cimentos Luxembourg has sold some 30,174,446 shares of its Portuguese cement company Cimpor to InterCement Austria Holding at a single price of €3.20 or €91.42 million in total.

It is reported that CCC Luxembourg now controls 19.55% of the voting capital of Cimpor in a direct way and also 74.64% indirectly which represents 501,580,368 shares via its subsidiary InterCement Austria.

The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) is reported to have raised its stake in Ohorongo Cement from 10% to 11.72%.

Ohorongo Cement, majority owned by Schwenk Zement of Germany,produces 700,000tonnes of cement for domestic and export markets.

It currently offers three products and it has spent NAD 150 million (€10.82 million/US$11.87 million) on a new facility to produce a special composite cement.

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa and Development Bank of Southern Africa (D

Tororo Cement is set to expand its cement production to 3 million tonnes/year from the present 1.8 million tonnes in Uganda.

The cement maker has also invested US$25 million (€22.77 million) into the plant expansion, which includes constructing more cement grinding mills with the cement storage silos, clinker feeding system, rotary packers and clinker sheds.

BUA Group has started to produce clinker from its new US$ 600million (€546.56 million) Obu cement plant at Okpella in Nigeria's Edo state.

The plant, with an annual capacity of 3 million tonnes,has started manufacturing cement.

BUA Group owns 100% stake in the Obu plant and Julius Berger, a Nigerian company handled the factory's civil construction works while Danish engineering company FLSmidth supplied the plant.

RioSol SAC and Compania Minera Rio Sol SAC, have announced for sale or development a significant limestone aggregate and lime claim in southern Peru, near the Interoceanic Highway connecting Peru and Brazil.

The claim is special in both size and proximity to nearby markets and large infrastructure projects, both in South America and potentially for export or a combination.

Euro Auctions held the largest sale to date for leading plant hire specialist A-Plant, at its site in Leeds, County Yorkshire, England, selling over 800 lots in what is believed to be the largest one-owner sale held in the UK this year.

This is the fourth sale that Euro Auctions has conducted for A-Plant and it was supported by bidders and buyers from over 40 countries worldwide.

David Betts from Euro Auctions, says: “We are very happy with the prices achieved during the sale. They were well ahead of

Hather Plant Hire, one of the largest plant hire companies in the UK and the largest in South Yorkshire, has invested in new equipment from Hill Engineering and Hyundai.

The company was formed 35 years ago by managing director, Gary Hather, with just one machine, a JCB 3C3, where Gary used to do small jobs for local builders. Today the company is still a family-run business with Gary at the helm alongside his wife Karen, son Luke and daughter Carol, and now has a fleet of more than 400 machines and 160 s

HeidelbergCement Rus has won the right to develop a 37.5km² plot on the Novo-Shikhanskaya area in the Volga region of Russia.

It is reported that according to the Geolnerud Central Research Institute, the limestone resources for the cement industry on the area amount to 168 million tonnes.

The contract is reported to cost RUB 966,000 (€14,284/US$15,677) with an initial payment of RUB 805,000.

The licence in valid for 25 years.

Sales volumes of aggregates and ready mixed concrete were 4% higher and asphalt 10% higher in the second quarter of 2015 than the same quarter of 2014.

For the half year to June, sales were also positive in comparison with 2014, with aggregates and concrete 7% higher and asphalt sales 10% higher.

There are nonetheless indications that construction markets may have slowed down temporarily.

CRH has completed the transaction to acquire certain assets from Lafarge and Holcim for a total enterprise value of €6.5 billion, with the exception of the Philippines, which is expected to close in Q3 2015.

“Today we extend a warm welcome to 15,000 new colleagues joining CRH. With their expertise and talent on board, combined with the strength of our existing employee base, CRH is a step closer to achieving our aim of becoming the world’s leading building materials company,” says Albert Manifold, CRH ch

Cemex says that the proceedings formally initiated by the European Commission on December 8, 2010 against Cemex and other companies regarding anti-competitive practices in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, has been closed by the European Commission.

As a result, Cemex is not subject to any fines or penalties resulting from such proceedings.

Cemex says it cooperated with the European Commission throughout the process

In the first half of 2015, turnover for the French building materials supplier Saint-Gobain was up 4.8% to €19.86 billion (US$21.80 billion).

Net income group share was down 16.8% to €558 million following a tax increase on results. Operating income was up 7.8% to €1.3 billion.

In the second quarter 2015, activity in France declined by 3.3% on an organic basis (-4.2% for the first half), and represents the only large zone which has not returned to growth.

Overall, in Q2, sales in volume returned to

In the first half of 2015, turnover for the French industrial minerals specialist Imerys was up 12% (or down 3.9% on a constant currency and perimeter basis) to €2.06 billion.

However, net current income for the group was up 11% to €175 million, due to acquisitions and positive currency effects.

Current operating income amounted to €274 million, with an operating margin of 13.3%, compared with 13.5% a year earlier.

Imerys is expecting solid growth of its net current income in 2015, and while perfor

HeidelbergCement has released its sixth Sustainability Report.

The Sustainability Report 2013/2014 highlights topics and challenges for HeidelbergCement in its drive for sustainable development. Readers also learn about the successes and aims of corporate sustainability management, as well as the company’s activities in the arena of environmental and climate protection, workplace safety and social responsibility.

“Sustainable business practices are a fundamental condition as well as an integral compon

Mexican cement company Cemex has confirmed that it has received an upgrade from Fitch Ratings from 'B+' to 'BB-' due to the conversion of around US$820 million (€746.96 million) of bonds into capital.

Fitch also compensated the refinance of US$8.6 billion of the company’s debt, which has reduced its annual financial expenditure by around US$200 million.

In addition, the new rating included upgrades in the national scale from 'BBB' up to 'A-' and in the short-term national scale from F3 up to F2.

US-based cement producer, Essroc, has concluded the purchase of a 500,000tonnes/year slag cement grinding facility located in Camden, New Jersey.

The Holcim (US) mill was divested to mitigate competition concerns about the merger between Holcim and Lafarge.

The purchase of Camden mill will enable Essroc to offer a more comprehensive product to its clients in the mid-Atlantic and north-east markets.

With the addition of the new plant, total slag cement production capacity of Essroc has increased t

Chinese cement and clinker maker and seller Tangshan Jidong Cement is tol inject CNY 1.09 billion (€159.77 million/US$175.56 million) into its wholly-owned subsidiary Tongchuan Company.

The newly-obtained capital will be spent by China-based Tongchuan Company on loans repayment.

Tongchuan Company generated a loss of CNY 179 million in net profit attributable to shareholders during January-June 2015. It generated a loss of CNY 188 million in net profit in 2014.

In China, total profit of the cement industry during January-June 2015 fell by 61% year-on-year to CNY 13.27 billion (€1.93 billion/US$2.14 billion).

Among the total, the cement industry in the Northwest, Northeast and North China areas generated a loss of CNY 670 million, CNY 289 million and CNY 1.74 billion respectively, while profit of the cement sector in the Southwest, Middle-south and East China areas hit CNY 797 million, CNY 7.46 billion and CNY 7.71 billion respectively.

In June 2015 alone, th