Egypt: Arabian Cement plans to use alternative energy to increase its capacity to 100%, according to company CEO Jose Maria Magrina. The company is currently running at approximately 80% of its installed production capacity, with around 70% of the energy it uses being coal. In the meantime, 10% of its energy is reliant on alternative energy such as waste and biomass.

Arabian Cement is currently working on the completion of another installation that would enable the use of waste as alternative fuel, thus allowing its production capacity to reach 100%. The conversion will be completed within four weeks. "We can increase production the moment we finish our complete conversion to alternative fuels," said Magrina.

UK: Environment minister Mark H Durkan and Devendra Mody, industrial director at Lafarge Tarmac, have signed an agreement allowing the use of waste-derived fuels (WDF) at Lafarge Tarmac's cement plant in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. The plant, which employs 86 people, currently uses coal for approximately 95% of its fuel. The agreement will see Lafarge Tarmac substitute up to 35% of its coal with WDF.

"The agreement will turn environment issues from barriers to business into economic growth opportunities. The deal is that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) firmly regulates and reduces red tape. In turn, partner companies invest heavily in the environment," said Durkan. "Lafarge Tarmac is committing significant investment in the environment. In addition to many environmental benefits, it will reduce its carbon emissions from production by a minimum of 10%, equivalent to taking 6500 cars off the road. It will look at ways to reduce emissions from its transportation chain and has also committed to improving public access to rare geological features found in the Ballysudden Area of Sepcial Scientific Interest (ASSI), located in its Cookstown quarry and to work with key stakeholders to develop a renewable energy strategy and examine options for reducing packaging."

Egypt: For the fourth quarter of 2014, Suez Cement reported a 2.5% year-on-year increase in revenues and 11.5% year-on-year growth in earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA). Its net profit after non-controlling interests increased by 15.2% during the quarter.

For the entirety of 2014, Suez Cement's sales increased by 22%, while recurring EBITDA improved by 8.8% compared to 2013. However, higher corporate income taxes coupled with an absence of foreign exchange gains were responsible for an 8.4% drop in net profit after non-controlling interests. EBITDA gains were also driven by Suez Cement's downstream activities in transportation and ready-mix cements, as well as its paper bags subsidiary, which saw an EBITA increase of 26.5%. Cement activities accounted for a gain of 6.3%.

The strong revenue performance was largely due to cement price increases due to an unprecedented surge in production costs and product shortages. Overall, clinker production decreased as a result of severe energy supply issues that impacted each of Suez Cement's plants and subsidiaries differently. The Tourah plant felt the greatest pressure from expensive clinker imports that were necessary to satisfy Egypt's growing demand.

Suez Cement was also negatively affected by energy costs (gas, mazut and electricity) that rose by 25 - 35% in 2014. It did not let the economic pressures, including a 40% drop in industrial production capacity, impact its employment rates or benefits packages. This was partially due to Suez Cement's commitment to the implementation of energy-efficient processes throughout the five plants, as well as further emphasis and utilisation of alternative fuels, which helped mitigate the drop in production as well as limit the impact from growing clinker imports. Suez Cement will go ahead with the deployment of coal power at all five plants over the next two years, a factor that is also expected to put a stop to some importing activities.

Suez Cement believes that the construction industry's recovery will continue to attract new investment. This is in addition to positive economic growth thanks to Egypt's new-found government stability and the future implementation of several large national projects. However, power cuts and fuel shortages are likely to remain major issues for cement producers. Fuel and energy shortages will also prolong challenges to meeting cement production targets.

The recent closure of the Tourah I plant is one example of Suez Cement's continued commitment to reducing its environmental impact. The company remains focused on investing in energy-efficient initiatives and environmentally-sound programs. This includes developing alternative fuel strategies that incorporate waste-derived fuels and coal, which will shift the company's energy mix and improve its production capabilities by reducing dependence on natural gas and mazut.

Australia: Adelaide Brighton boss Martin Brydon said that he would pursue funding from the Abbott Government's US$2.55bn Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) as Adelaide Brighton accelerates its alternative fuel use to head off its rising gas bill. The ERF is the centre-piece of the government's direct action climate policy and the first auction for funding starts on 15 April 2015.

Adelaide Brighton has a total energy bill of around US$130m/yr. Brydon said that the group will save US$6m/yr from the repeal of the carbon tax. "We are energy-intensive and capital-intensive. Anything that happens that can reduce the cost of energy is critical," said Brydon.

Adelaide Brighton's Birkenhead cement plant in south Australia, which recently expanded its cement production capacity to 750,000t/yr, generates 15% of its energy from waste wood used in construction. Brydon said that he plans to take that number to 30% and that he 'will certainly' be bidding for grants from the ERF. "The cost of that waste wood energy is significantly below the cost of natural gas," said Brydon.

In 2014, Adelaide Brighton reported a 14.3% rise in net profit to US$136m and a 9% rise in revenue to US$1.06bn. The profit and revenue numbers were both records for the company, although after stripping out one-off items the underlying profit was US$132m. Strong residential housing activity in NSW and Queensland, work on the Pacific Highway upgrade and ongoing demand from resource projects in western Australia and the northern regions buoyed sales. Adelaide Brighton said that it expects price increases in 2015 across all of its products.

In August 2014 the company acquired two concrete businesses and a quarry. Brydon said that he is looking for other businesses to buy, but opportunities for quality long-term assets were 'few and far between.'