Taiwan Cement Corp, the third-largest cement maker in China and Taiwan, expects this year’s profit to exceed the record T$5.70bn ($176m) profit it made in 2005, the company’s chairman said. 
 
"Our core business is likely to be better than last year, while the performances of our affiliated businesses have risen, so we should see a great rise in first half results," Koo Cheng-yun told Reuters on the sidelines of a forum in Taipei. 
 
Koo said based on expected strong first-half results and continued growth, he expects full-year net profit to exceed that of last year, when the company’s earnings hit a record high.