Siam Cement Group expects its export business to fall

Siam Cement Group expects its export business to fall
14 May 2009


Siam Cement Group expects its international trade to suffer its first-ever drop in annual revenue, to THB60-70bn this year, after posting a more than 30% decline in the first quarter, the Bangkok Post reports.

SCT Co - the international trading arm of Thailand’s largest industrial conglomerate - projects its sales revenue will drop by 10% in 2009 in the face of the global economic recession, compared to the double-digit growth recorded every year previously, said Kalin Sarasin, the company’s managing director.

Sales in the US market have been the hardest hit by the economic downturn. Poor Stateside trade has led SCT to re-allocate shipments of 2 million tonnes of cement, originally earmarked for the US, to Africa and the Middle East.

Profits form the sale of energy-related products, especially coal, which had risen substantially since the beginning of the year have started to ebb as a result of weakening prices, he said.

"We expect a total revenue of approximately 60-70 billion baht this year, a decline of about 10% from 2008. Business in the first quarter was better than the last three months of last year, but it is still down by more than 30% year-on-year," he said.
Published under Cement News