Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Ltd expects 30% decline in cement volumes in 2Q20

Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Ltd said business volumes had declined considerably due to low demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The LafargeHolcim subsidiary said the lockdown will have an inevitable impact on volumes for the second quarter in 2020.

"It is projected that 2Q2020 volumes will decline by 30 per cent with the possibility of spill over risks impacting the second half of the year," the company said in its first quarter trading update for 2020.

"The ripple effects of the lockdown and border closures are still to be fully quantified, but the business expects to continue to feel the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak into the second half of the year."

It said it will have to rely more on foreign-funded projects to sustain operations in the wake of the slowdown in aggregate demand in the core individual homebuilder market.