PT Holcim Indonesia reported a decline in sales for the first six months of 2013, having registered a second consecutive quarterly fall.

Volumes dropped by 1.3 per cent to 4Mt in the Jan-June 2013 period. "The company had foreseen the contraction after a similar dip in the first quarter, the first time after eight consecutive quarters of growth," Holcim president director Eamon Ginley told the Jakarta Post. First quarter sales fell 1.6 per cent to 2Mt.

However, Mr Ginley expects the slowdown in sales to be temporary as demand would continue to increase over the medium to long term due to investments by the government and private sector on infrastructure and housing.

Despite the lower sales volumes, Holcim managed to post a 6.9 per cent YoY rise in revenue to IDR4.48trn (US$435.63m) during the first half of 2013.