Cement sales volumes slumped industrywide in 2018, Sephaku says
Building and construction materials group blames low economic growth for the drop
Cement sales volumes in SA may have fallen up to 10% in 2018 due to weak economic conditions, JSE-listed Sephaku Holdings says. The comment offers a rare glimpse into the state of the cement industry because some of the country’s largest cement producers are unlisted. The company said it expects building materials demand to remain constrained amid low economic growth. “The macroeconomic environment continued to be depressed with GDP growth estimates for the 12 months ended December 2018 at 0.5%-0.9%. This underwhelming economic context resulted in an estimated 5%-10% decline in industry sales volumes,” the building and construction materials company said. Sephaku Holdings, which has a portfolio of investments in the cement and ready-mix sectors, said volumes of Dangote Cement SA, in which the company owns a 36% stake, were down 6.4%. Sephaku Cement SA’s revenue for the year to December fell 3.1% to R2.29bn due to the lower volumes. Above-inflation increases in inputs such as coal, e...
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