LafargeHolcim Group has invested US$500m in Bangladesh over the years and plans for even more, besides continuously working in research and development to find best and sustainable solutions in the construction sector and promotion of cement industry in the country.

This information was shared on the occasion of LafargeHolcim Bangladesh's 20th annual general meeting (AGM), which was held in Dhaka on 7 June. Company top officials say, it is the biggest foreign direct investment in the building materials sector in Bangladesh.

In January 2018 the company completed the acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares of Holcim Cement (Bangladesh) Ltd. With the acquisition of Holcim Bangladesh, the cement production capacity of the company has increased to 4.2Mta from 1.4Mta.

Financial performance
The company's gross profit margin went down by 24.02 per cent in 2017 compared to last year due to multiple reasons. Cost of goods sold has gone up by 11.53 per cent compared to last year (2016) due to increase of raw material costs. All major cost elements of freight, production and fi­nancing have been kept well within budget. Finance costs reduced from BDT71m to BDT41m (US$0.842m-0.486m), which helped its strong cash flow.

Bangladesh cement market
The Bangladesh cement market grew more than 10 percent on average for the last five years and it is expected that high growth rates will continue on the backdrop of the positive GDP development as well as of the significant infrastructure investments.