Armenian cement producer Arat Cement reported a net loss of AMD1.079bn (US$2.6m) compared to net profit of AMD521m in 2010.

According to local press reports, the company is idling operations due to economic reasons. The construction sector has not yet recovered from the 2009 economic crisis and is still suffering declines. Last year, cement production fell 13.4 per cent YoY to 422,200t.

Arat Cement operates a dry-process facility close to the Turkish border with a nominal capacity of 1.2Mta. Mika Cement is the country’s other domestic producer which operates a 1.2Mta integrated plant at Hradan, 40km noth of Yerevan.