Lower raw material costs have aided profits at Sri Lanka's Tokyo Cement group. In the June 2013 quarter profits rose 660 per cent to LKR611m (US$4.63m) from a year earlier. The factors affecting cement sales in the country have changed significantly from last year when raw material costs were hurting cement producers and the government, which is in charge of cement prices, delayed a price hike on cement.

As clinker production costs have fallen and the Sri Lankan currency has stabilised, Tokyo Cement has been able to maximise its efficiencies. Revenues for the cement producer rose four per cent to LKR6.7bn, while direct costs fell five per cent to LKR5.5bn. Gross profits were recorded at LKR1.25bn, a rise of 87 per cent.