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Today's Headlines Cement Sales
Indonesian cement manufacturers remain optimistic that domestic cement consumption in Indonesia will rise more markedly in the second half of the year. In the first half of the year national cement sales rose 3.48 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 30.0 million tons.
Cement sales in Indonesia rose 6.6 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 15.7 million tons in the first quarter of 2018. While the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) initially expected cement consumption to be flat in March, consumption actually rose 3.4 percent (y/y) to 5.21 million tons in the third month of the year, hence pushing the overall Q1 figure to 15.7 million tons. A country's cement sales are a good indicator to measure its property and infrastructure development.
Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, the second-largest cement manufacturer in Indonesia, has high hopes for its second brand in the low-end cement market of Indonesia. Considering the challenging environment for the nation's cement companies - most notable the fierce competition and significant supply glut - Indocement is using another strategy in order to gain its market share.
Domestic cement consumption in Indonesia rose 5.2 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 4.79 million tons in February 2018, supported by significantly rising cement demand on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI), said most provinces on Sumatra showed rising appetite for cement last month with the exception of West Sumatra and Bengkulu.
The Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) said cement sales in Indonesia grew by 7.6 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 66.4 million tons in full-year 2017. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of ASI, said cement sales rose in all regions across the country with the exception of Kalimantan and Sulawesi. As usual, the biggest cement consumer in 2017 was Java. This island accounted for 57 percent of total cement consumption in Indonesia in 2017, followed by Sumatra with 21 percent.
Demand for cement in Indonesia is rising ahead of the year-end. Growing cement demand is attributed to the speeding up of construction of several national strategic infrastructure projects. Widodo Santoso, General Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), said cement consumption in Indonesia rose 12.5 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 6.76 million tons in October 2017.
Cement consumption continued to improve in Indonesia in August 2017 on the back of rising demand from Java and the eastern region of Indonesia. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), said Indonesia's cement consumption rose 9 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 6.47 million tons in August 2017.
In May 2017 Indonesia's national cement consumption extended the rise that started in the preceding month supported by a recovery in the property sector and infrastructure development projects. Based on data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), cement demand grew 7 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 5.47 million tons in May. Meanwhile, cement sales rose 4.1 percent (y/y) to 25.26 million tons in the January-May 2017 period.
The Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) has high hopes for Indonesia's cement exports this year. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of the ASI, said he wants the nation's exports grow to the range of 2 - 3 million tons in 2017, up from 1.5 million tons in the preceding year (implying nearly 100 percent year-on-year growth). By the year 2019 the association targets to see 5 million tons of cement exports shipped abroad from Indonesia.
Cement sales in Indonesia rose 0.2 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 4.54 million tons in February 2017 from 4.54 million tons in the same month one year earlier. This growth pace is considerably below market participants' targets. Weak cement sales in the second month of 2017 are blamed on weather conditions (the high amount of rainfall that caused floods in several parts of Indonesia) and on the fact that direct investment (in infrastructure and property) outside Java remains bleak.
Latest Columns Cement Sales
The year 2015 may be a good one for Indonesian cement makers. The Indonesian government under the leadership of Joko Widodo is eager to invest heavily in the country’s infrastructure as this is one of the main bottlenecks that blocks higher economic growth. In the Revised 2015 State Budget the central government set aside IDR 290.3 trillion (USD $22.3 billion) for infrastructure development. Surely, the country's large cement producers - Semen Indonesia, Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, Holcim Indonesia and Semen Baturaja - will benefit from this.
Indonesian cement sales jumped 37.4 percent (year-on-year) to 4.7 million tons in August 2014 due to higher cement demand from Indonesian property and infrastructure developers. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), said that the development of smelters, power plants, apartments, hotels, and social housing has been key to improved cement sales last month. However, the 37.4 percentage point growth was also caused by fewer working days in August 2013 as the Lebaran holiday fell in that month.
Indonesian cement sales have slowed and may not achieve the target set for 2014. In the first half of 2014, the country’s domestic cement sales totaled 28.9 million tons, a 3.9 percentage point increase from the same period last year, well below the growth target of 6 percent (year-on-year, yoy). However, this development is no surprise as economic growth of Indonesia has slowed in recent years. Cement sales, a key indicator of construction activity (infrastructure and property development) are closely linked to general GDP growth.
Indonesian cement sales fell 0.4 percent (year-on-year) to 4.52 million tons in April 2014. The decline in cement sales was the result of the country’s legislative election that was held on 9 April 2014 as consumers bought few building materials during the campaign period. Head of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) Widodo Santoso stated that a number of large infrastructure projects are currently being tendered and are thus unable to boost domestic cement sales yet.
Indonesia's cement sales in January 2014 declined 1 percent to 4.65 million metric tons from the same month in 2013 (4.68 million metric tons). The decline was caused by severe floods brought about by high rainfall amid a peak in Indonesia's rainy season. The floods resulted in disrupted distribution networks, therefore blocking cement shipments to retailers. Moreover, these weather conditions caused the postponement of several construction activities, thus reducing demand for cement.
According to the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), cement sales in Indonesia reached 41.6 million tons in the first three quarters of 2013, a 5.3 percent increase compared to domestic cement sales in the same period in 2012 (39.5 million tons), while Indonesia's cement exports jumped by 187 percent to 503 thousand tons. As such, total cement sales from January to September 2013 grew 6.2 percent to 42 million tons. Meanwhile, Semen Indonesia, Indonesia's largest cement producer, managed to expand its market share.
According to data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), domestic cement sales have fallen 5.8 percent to 3.3 million tons in August 2013 (from the same month last year). Being an important indicator of economic expansion (as cement sales inform about the development of property and infrastructure projects in the country), these lower cement sales confirm the slowing pace of economic growth in Indonesia. Compared to July 2013, cement sales in Indonesia fell by a massive 32 percent.
Cement sales in Indonesia grew by seven percent to 32.9 million tons in the period January to July 2013. This pace of growth is significantly lower compared to the double-digit cement growth rate last year and thus forms another sign of cooling economic growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy (cement sales are a good indicator to measure the state of economic growth of a country). A slowdown in domestic cement sales is likely to continue in the second half of 2013, partly due to a decline in infrastructure projects.
State-owned cement producer Semen Baturaja invites investors to its initial public offering (IPO) between 29 May and 7 June 2013 at the Ritz Carlton Pacific Place in Jakarta. Through this IPO, the company offers 2.34 billion shares (about 23.76 percent of its stock equity) to the public with an initial price target of IDR 500 - 685 per share (USD $0.05 - $0.07). Semen Baturaja will be listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) on 28 June 2013. The lead underwriters for this IPO are Bahana Securities, Danareksa Securities and Mandiri Securities.
Cement consumption in Indonesia increased 8.6 percent to 18.11 million tons in the first four months of 2013. Demand was particularly supported by property and housing projects in the bigger cities of Indonesia. Another pillar of support was found in the development of various infrastructure projects (including those within the framework of the government's ambitious MP3EI plan). The Indonesian Cement Association expects this year's cement consumption in Indonesia to rise to 61 million tons in total.
