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Portuguese building materials manufacturer Martifer recorded losses of €30 million (US$39.57 million) in the first half of 2014, compared to losses of €50.1 million in H1, 2013.

The operating revenues fell by 44% to €167 million and impairments were down from €21 million to €10 million. The EBITDA was down to -€3.3 million and EBIT was in the red at -€36 million.

The net debt increased to €351 million but the management wants to sell non-core assets such as wind farms and solar power stations.

Saint-Gobain Construction Products, a Romania construction materials producer, which is controlled by the French Saint-Gobain Group, recorded a turnover of around RON 240 million (€54.60 million) in 2013.

The company estimates that its sales may see a slight growth in 2014.

Megaprofil, the Romanian construction materials producer controlled by the Belgian group Joris Ide, recorded a turnover of €12 million in the first half of 2014, up 8% from the same period of 2013.

According to Adrian Porfir, manager south-east Europe at Joris Ide, the company's sales on the local market rose by 10%, while its exports increased by 6% accounting for 50% of its total sales.

Megaprofil exported products to Hungary, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia, Moldova and Kosovo.

Lafarge Tarmac has unveiled a new plastic tubs range for use across an array of landscaping and gardening jobs.

The cement, mortar and concrete tubs can be used for small bricklaying and concreting tasks, as well as laying paving slabs.

The tubs can be re-sealed for future use and it is said this minimises the waste created by small jobs.

The Mayor of the Serbian town Jagodina, Dragan Markovic-Palma, is said to have reported that an additional two Italian factories will open, along the three already opened.

Among one of the new plants, which is forecast to create 100 new jobs, is a factory for construction of concrete elements with steel constructions. The investor's name has not yet been mentioned.

The Mayor said that over a five-year period, a total of five foreign investors arrived, while Italian companies alone invested approximate

According to Dwi Soetjipto, the managing director of Semen Indonesia, the company is planning to team up with property developer Wijaya Karya in the country to develop office and residential buildings on its ex-cement plant site.

The Indonesian cement producer is said to be planning to set up a 50:50 new joint venture unit for this purpose.

It is reported that involvement in the infrastructure sector, such as toll road and the power plant business, are being explored.

In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, a cement plant will be set up by Ramco Cement in the district of Kurnool.

A sum of INR 15 billion (€188.35 million/US$248.44 million) will be spent on the factory in Kilimigundla village.

The investment may rise to INR 30 billion for a 20km rail line to facilitate transport.

In Germany, gravel companies Niederrheinische Kies- und Sandbaggerei of Rees and Suhrborg und Co of Wesel have been merged into Holemans Niederrhein.

It is reported that the new company, which will be based in Wesel, will not result in job cuts.

Holemans Group is said to have attributed the merger to the changed market conditions, which require leaner, more efficient and customer-oriented structures.

The Irish building materials and insulation producer Kingspan Group posted an increase of 17% in its earnings before interest, tax, deductions and amortisation (EBITDA) to €88.9 million during the first-half of 2014.

Sales remained strong due to demand for low energy buildings, even with the unfavourable outlook of the economy. This is attributable to the recovery in Britain, which accounts for 38% of Kingspan sales and which is said to have aided the company in that market.

Similarly, in mainland Eur

Cement sales fell 32% in Morocco in July 2014 to 788,112 tonnes, against 1,170,602 tonnes in July 2013.

Cement sales in the first seven months of 2014 fell 8% to 8,223,285tonnes against 8,948,245tonnes in the same period of 2013.

Guelmin-Es-Semara was the only region to register growth in cement sales in the first seven months of 2014 (up 22.8%).

Australia-based cement and concrete manufacturer Adelaide Brighton registered a 3.9% rise in revenue to AUD 602 million (€426.05 million/US$561.97 million) in the six months to 30 June 2014.

A 7% growth was also reported in earnings before interest and tax to AUD 78.30 million but the company recorded a 2.9% decline in underlying net profit to AUD 61.20 million, followed by a 15.9% fall in net profit after tax to AUD 51.20 million on a year-on-year basis.

Usje, the Macedonian cement company, which is owned by Greece’s Titan, has seen its consolidated net profit for the first half of 2014 reach MKD 789.20 million (€12.88 million/US$16.96 million), up by 28% on the year.

The company’s operating revenue reached MKD 2 billion, up by 15% on year, while operating costs reached MKD 1.3 billion, up by 5% on year.

In the quarter of April-June 2014, Cahya Mata Sarawak (Cahya Mata), a cement and construction company of Malaysia, has recorded a 13.1% rise in revenue from MYR 338.33million (US$107.70 million/€81.65 million) in the previous year to MYR 383.36 million.

Net profit for the quarter was up by 65.2% from MYR 40.01 million to MYR 66.11 million year-on-year, attributed to growth in all its business units.

Between January and June 2014, Cahya Mata's revenue grew by 14.4% from MYR 648.69 million to MYR 756.6

Nigeria’s Lafarge Cement Wapco reports profit before tax of N17.74 billion (approximately US$109 million) for its half-year ended 30 June, a 29% increase from its N13.8 billion ($85 million) in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The company, which last month merged with South Africa’s Lafarge subsidiary, also enjoyed a 12% increase in revenue for the first six months of 2014. Revenue rose to N55.35 billion ($341 million) from N49.48 billion ($305 million) in the preceding year.

The company

Cemex has reportedly acquired the Bosnian concrete plant BINIS in Banja Luka. According to the acquisition agreement, Cemex will begin management of BINIS from the beginning of October 2014. Meanwhile, BINIS will continue with production and launch of its own concrete products. No acquisition value has been disclosed.

China Gezhouba Group posted a year-on-year growth of 23.65% in revenue to US$5.8 billion (CNY 35.68 billion) January to June 2014. China Gezhouba, which is involved in property development, cement production and construction projects such as roads, railways, sewage and water supply, signed $11.42 billion (CNY 70.44 billion) worth of new contracts in the six-month period. The company's net profit increased 48.65% to $204.38 million (CNY 1.26 billion).

Meanwhile, fellow Chinese firm Allied Cement Holdings

The Dalmia Group is planning to merge OCL India and Dalmia Bharat, its listed cement firms, according to sources in contact with The Economic Times newspaper. In addition, Dalmia Bharat is reported by India’s leading business paper as likely to merge Dalmia Bharat Enterprises, its unlisted arm, with itself. The merger talks are said to have been denied by Dalmia Group.

Chinese construction equipment manufacturer SDLG recently invited 50 major customers from Saudi Arabia and Qatar to watch a key clash in the SDLG-sponsored 2014 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.

The VIP guests, joined by SDLG Saudi Arabia dealer Famco, saw Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal triumph 1-0 over Qatar rivals Al Sadd in the Quarter-Final AFC Champions League clash at Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium.

The AFC Champions League is Asia’s largest football tournament, and SDLG i

Caterpillar’s UK Building Construction Products division has been presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade, the highest official UK award for British businesses. It recognises Caterpillar’s increasing contribution to UK exports.

The construction equipment manufacturing giant was also acknowledged for outstanding achievement in improving environmental and social responsibilities, which included the "Zeto to Landfill" programme and various volunteering events in the community

Three potential buyers are interested in Lafarge’s Mannersdorf cement plant up for sale as a result of the planned €40 billion Holcim merger, according to the WirtschaftsBlatt newspaper.

The Mannersdorf plant, which accounts for a quarter of Austria's cement production, is of interest to Leube, Kirchdorfer group and Cemex, with the Cemex bid likely to have the biggest chances of success, the German newspaper says.