Lafarge achieves RM104m Q2 pre-tax profit

Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd's pre-tax profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011 increased to RM104.093 million from RM91.429 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

The company attributed the better result mainly to a higher revenue and share of better results from its associated company but added that this was partly offset by the higher cost of fuel and raw materials. The 10 per cent in electricity tariff effective June 1, further added to the cost of production, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Its revenue for the quarter rose to RM667.415 million from RM591.193 million previously, backed by higher domestic volumes coupled with better domestic and export prices and higher sales of other building materials.

For the six months period, its pre-tax profit rose to RM172.955 million from RM148.461 million in the corresponding period last year.

Its revenue rose to RM1.270 billion from RM1.140 billion.

The group’s revenue for the half-year was higher than the corresponding period last year by 11 per cent mainly due to higher domestic sales volume and better selling prices which partly offset the higher production costs particularly fuel. On prospects, it said domestic demand for cement and other building materials would continue to grow following the implementation of major infrastructure projects and property development.--Bernama