Lafarge Malayan Cement reports 13.2% lift in pre-tax profit
Lafarge Malayan Cement Berhad on Thursday reported first quarter pre-tax profit of RM66.293 million (US$20.7 m), an increase of 13.2 per cent YoY thanks to higher domestic sales.
For the three months ended 31 March 2008, its revenue rose 10.1 per cent to RM559.607 million from RM508.277 million for the same period a year earlier, it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia on May 15.
Its earnings per share surged to 7.30 sen from 3.20 sen previously.
It said the higher profit was mainly due to contributions from higher domestic sales but partly offset by higher costs of fuel and raw materials.
Revenue was higher mainly due to stronger domestic cement demand in Malaysia which grew by 12 per cent year-on-year in the current quarter.
Lafarge said it expected the level of consumption for the remaining nine months of the year to be supported by the ongoing implementation of the 9th Malaysia Plan.
In Singapore, construction activities are expected to continue to be robust, with the Integrated Resort projects and still active property market, it said.
It expected contributions from cement exports to remain significant as the Group will benefit from strong demand in the international market and increased cement production with better plant performance and higher usage of cementitious materials.
However, the impact of rising cost of fuel and raw materials will be more significant in the next three quarters compared to the current quarter which was mitigated by the availability of lower cost coal inventory and contracts.
The results of 2008 will depend on the cement price increase and the proposed implementation of the Automatic Pricing Mechanism, it said. Published under Cement News
