Siam Cement 3Q net profit down 20% YoY

Siam Cement said on Wednesday its third-quarter net profit dropped 20 per cent YoY due to weak demand for construction materials.

Thailand’s largest industrial conglomerate posted July-September net profit of THB7.85bn (US$241.7m). This compared with THB9.79bn a year earlier when the company booked a gain of THB1.5bn.

Analysts at Krungsri Securities expect the slowdown to continue through the final three months of the year stating: "The declining trend will likely continue into the fourth quarter of this year when business usually is in its low season." It expects things to pick up in 2015 when the company's expansion both within the country and into other Southeast Asian countries will likely shore up its business.