According to the company, domestic demand for cement in Thailand fall 3% year on year in the quarter and 1% on the previous quarter on the back of soft demand from the private sector. Cement prices also fall noticeably year on year.
Exports meanwhile fell 0.3 million t to 0.7 million t, while the average export price fell US$9 per tonne to US$49 per tonne – a results of a rise in the increase of clinker sales in the export mix and a fall in the export of bagged cement. For the full year, exports hit 3.7 million t, a fall of 0.7 million t on 2015.
As a result, revenues from the company’s cement and building materials business fell 4% year on year in the final quarter of the year. Earnings were down 6% year on year and 8% on the previous quarter. On a full-year basis, earnings were down 5%.
Profitability took a more substantial hit, falling 39% in the quarter on the previous year as a result of increased depreciated expenses from new plants in Cambodia and Indonesia. Profit for the full year fell 17%.
