Huaxin Cement Co Ltd, in which Holcim holds an approximate 42 per cent stake, has become the latest Chinese producer to issue a first-half profit warning. 

The Hubei Province-based cement manufacturer said on 9 July that its net profit is expected to fall by at least 50% YoY in the first half of 2012 due to a decline in cement prices. The company booked CNY542m in net profit in the same period of 2012.

Last year, Huaxin Cement acquired three plants in the province of Hubei with a capacity of 5Mtof cement. Huaxin Cement’s first two aggregates plants in Wuxue and Yangxin scheduled to  start operations in 2012.