West China Cement issues first-half profit warning

West China Cement Ltd said Wednesday it expects to record a "significant decrease" in net profit for the six months ended June compared with a year ago.

The Hong Kong-listed cement producer said the anticipated decline is mainly attributed to the low average selling price of cement over the past 12 months. The company also said it was unable to maintain "reasonable selling prices and healthy margins" in the southern part of the Shaanxi region.

West China cement recorded a net profit of CNY160.2m (US$25.8m) for the six months ended June 2014.