Asia Cement (China) first-half profit rises

Asia Cement (China) said its profit attributable to owners for the six months ended 30 June 2014 rose 49.7 per cent YoY to CNY383m (US$62m).

Revenue increased by 23 per cent YoY to CNY3.91bn. The gross profit margin on revenue rose to 24 per cent from 18 per cent.

The growth in net profit was mainly attributable to the increase in sales volume and average selling price of Asia Cement's products versus the comparative period of last year.

Cement and clinker sales rose 14 per cent YoY to 13.43Mt on the back of an adjustment in sales strategies, a strengthening of production management and enhancement of operating efficiency.

Mr Hsu Shu-tong, Chairman of Asia Cement (China), said: “Benefiting from increase in cement price and a continued low coal price, the group achieved satisfactory results, with significant growth in overall profits when compared with the corresponding period of last year.”

Mr Hsu added: “Although cement price fell short of expectations in the second quarter, we are confident that the price will recover in the second half of the year. It is expected that industry players will be more proactive in exercising self-discipline to suspend the operation of kilns to conserve energy and reduce emission in the third quarter, which will further improve supply and demand situation. As such, we are optimistic about the future market trend. We expect the price to start to rise at the end of the third quarter, and to leap further as growth in demand accelerates after the arrival of the peak season in the fourth quarter.”

In April 2014, the Group acquired the entire equity interest in Sichuan Lanfeng Cement Co, Ltd, thus increasing its annual cement production capacity by 5Mta to 35Mta. It was therefore able to command the largest market share in the Chengdu cement market.