The National Bureau of Statistics of China and China Building Material Industry Association jointly released the country’s top 100 building material manufacturers for 2005. Last year, the 100 companies received combined profits of CNY 8.3 billion, some CNY 3.4 billion down or 29 per cent lower than the same period of 2004.

Vice chairman of the association told journalists that the main reasons for the slippage are ever increasing prices of raw materials and fuel and falling factory prices of building materials, and 52 companies among the top 100 ones saw their profits tumble year on year.

In 2005, prices of crude coal rose by CNY 75 per ton, heavy oil by CNY 412 per ton, sodium carbonate by CNY 364 per ton and electricity by CNY 0.04 per kwh, showed figures from the building material association. On the contrary, the factory prices of cement dropped CNY 4.85 a ton from 2004, and that of flat glass fell CNY 2.75 per weight-box.

Advertisement