Cement despatches edges lower by 16.8% YoY in November

December 05, 2022 (MLN): Cement despatches decreased by 16.8% YoY in November 2022 to 4 million tons compared to the same month last fiscal year, the latest data released by the All-Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (ACPMA).

Similarly, on monthly basis, the total despatches showed a drop of 5.6% MoM in November compared to 5.6 MTs in October 2022.

High coal prices coupled with PKR depreciation and rising fuel costs have kept the cement sector under pressure.

Meanwhile, the surprise hike of 100bps from the SBP has put a further burden on the sector, as several companies increased leveraging in order to fund capacity expansions, a report by AKD Securities noted.

Region-wise, the sales from the North to the domestic market clocked in at 3.16mn tons during the month, posting a decline of 8.8%YoY while remaining flat on an MoM basis.

On the flip side, local cement sales in the South clocked in at 0.70mn tons for Nov’22, posting a gain of 6.6%YoY and a decline of 6.7%MoM.

Furthermore, the local dispatches declined by 18.3% in 5MFY23, where the Northern region witnessed a decline of 19.2% in 5MFY23 to 13.6mn tons against 16.8mn tons in SPLY and the Southern region dispatches posted a decline of 13.5% in 5MFY23 to 2.8mn tons against 3.2mn tons.

Exports from the North witnessed an increase of 1.5%YoY in 5MFY23 to 0.5mn tons, while Southern region exports declined by 56.5% in 5MFY23 to 1.0mn tons compared to 2.3mn tons SPLY.

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