China: China Resources’ profit has fallen by 76% year-on-year to US$130m in 2015 from US$542m in 2014. Its revenue fell by 18% to US$3.45bn from US$4.21bn. It blamed the drop in revenue on falling demand for cement and a general economic slowdown in China.

Despite the fall in demand, sales volumes of cement rose by 7% to 77Mt in 2015 from 72Mt in 2014. The group reported that it maintained its cement production utilisation rate at a surprising 99.5% and its clinker production utilisation rate at 113.3% in 2015. It completed the construction of one 1Mt/yr cement grinding line at Lianjiang City, Guangdong and a fifth 1.6Mt/yr clinker production line at Fengkai County, Guangdong.

China Resources expects its cement and clinker production capacities to continue rising to 2018 to 87.3Mt/yr and 64.3Mt/yr respectively. It added that new infrastructure projects, the gradual recovery of real estate market and long-term national policies of the ‘One Belt and One Road’ initiative and the thirteenth five-year plan will help to stabilise cement demand in the medium and long term.