For the three months to the end of March 2017, Malaysia-based Hume Industries recorded revenue of MYR158.5m (US$36.7m), up 8.2 per cent on the recorded MYR145.5m a year earlier. Profit before tax saw a sharp decline to MYR1m from MYR15.9m in the same period of the previous year, which the company attributed to lower selling prices and higher operating expenses for the construction materials business.

Going forward, the group expects the outlook to remain challenging in view of weakening demand. To mitigate the impact of the weaker market Hume Industries says it will continue to focus on efficiency improvements and cost reduction measures to remain competitive.

Hume Cement is part of the Hong Leong Group, a Malaysian conglomerate, and operates a 1.8Mta integrated plant at Gopeng in Perak state around 20km south of the provincial capital, Ipoh. The plant will be upgraded in 2017 by the addition of a second 5000tpd clinker line that is being built by Sinoma, the same company that constructed the original plant between 2010 and 2012.