Siam Cement PCL (SCC), Thailand’s biggest industrial conglomerate, posted a 27 per cent fall in first quarter net profit on Wednesday as weak demand hurt sales, but that was better than expected.

SCC reported a January-March net profit of THB5.2bn (US$147m), down from THB7.1bn a year earlier but higher than the THB3.7 bn forecast by five analysts polled by Reuters.

SCC had posted a THB3.5bn net loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 due to a huge inventory loss caused by a drop in petrochemical prices. It said it had no inventory losses in the first quarter.

Cement sales eased three per cent in the quarter, with both domestic and export sales lower. Domestic demand for grey cement fell 10 per cent, it said.