China cement output rises 21.3 per cent

China cement output rises 21.3 per cent
03 October 2006


China produced 109.537Mt of cement in August this year, up 21.3% YoY.  This is the fifth month running for the country’s monthly cement output exceeding 100Mt.  
 
According to statistics published by the National Bureau of Statistics, total cement output reached 762.2877Mt in the first eight months of this year, up 21 per cent YoY.  
 
China Cement Industry Association predicts that the domestic cement output will hit a historic high and is set to exceed 1.2bn tons for the whole year.  
 
Entering the peak season, brisk cement production and sales will continue, and the profit of cement industry as whole is likely to grow over 50 per cent this year.  
 
Meanwhile, the utilization rate of production capacity of cement industry is expected to reach 90.1 per cent this year.  
 
Rapid growth of demand has forcefully propped up rapid growth of the output.  
 
But as growth of domestic fixed assets investment slows down in 2007, China’s market demand for cement can no longer enjoy high-speed growth.  
 
Thanks to brisk market demand, listed cement companies have bottomed out. According to statistics of Galaxy Securities, the main operating turnover of the 10 listed cement enterprises totaled 15.235 billion yuan in the first half of 2006, up 26.73% year on year; their gross profit hit 1.075 billion yuan, an increase of CNY859m or up 398.5% year on year; and their net profit, CNY509.0663m, an increase of CNY470.1237m.  
 

As September-October is the major construction period for most projects in China, cement price may rise slightly in the period and then fall in November-December.  
 
But profit of the industry as a whole may still grow sharply, and is expected to be over 12 billion yuan this year, up over 50% year on year.
Published under Cement News