China Resources Cement Holdings Ltd (CRC), a leading cement and concrete producer in southern China, reported higher year-on-year sales volumes of cement in 1Q18. Concrete sales were also up over the period.
Cement sales volumes totaled 16.52 million t of cement in 1Q18, compared to 14,60 million t in 1Q17. Concrete sales stood at 3.01 million t, compared to 2.56 million t last year. Clinker sales were down, however, at 1.18 million t, compared to 1.92 million t in 1Q17.
The increase was driven by demand in Guangxi province, which saw sales rise to 5.41 million t from 4.16 million t last year. Guangdong remained the largest consumer of CRC’s cement with sales of 6.41 million t, compared to 6.19 million t in 1Q17.
The price of CRC’s cement also rose dramatically from HKD298.3 per tonne in 1Q17 to HKD387.2 per tonne in the first three months of this year. As a result, turnover increased to HKD8.05 billion from HKD5.77 billion last year – an increase of 39.4%.