Semen Indonesia scales back full-year growth target

PT Semen Indonesia has reduced its 2014 sales growth target from 5-6 per cent to 4-5 per cent due to a slowdown in cement sector, its corporate secretary, Agung Wiharto, said.

Mr Wiharto told Reuters that the state-owned company did not achieve its sales volumes target in the third quarter of this year. Sales volumes in the three months to the end of September 2014 reached 19.1Mt, up three per cent from 18.5Mt a year earlier, representing 71 per cent of its 2014 full-year target.

Indonesian cement demand in the first nine months of 2014 rose by 3.4 per cent YoY to 42.993Mt, data released by the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI) last week showed. While strong gains have been seen in the past months, industry commentators caution that demand in the traditionally-strong final quarter may be hampered by present political uncertainties and the start of the rainy season.