Semen Gresik's cement sales rise 9.8%

Semen Gresik's cement sales rise 9.8%

PT Semen Gresik, Indonesia's biggest cement maker by volume, said sales rose 9.8 percent to 1.63 million tons in September from a year earlier, led by exports.

Exports surged 50 percent to 201,265 metric tons in September, from 133,600 tons the same month a year earlier, after falling 22 percent in August, Gresik said in a statement on its Web site on Monday.

The company's sales to the domestic market added 5.8 percent to 1.43 million tons last month from 1.35 million a year earlier.

In the nine months ended Sept. 30 Gresik's total sales rose 5.6 percent to 12.3 million tons from a year earlier, as domestic sales grew 8 percent to 10.8 million tons.

Sales of cement may rise as the government prepares to spend on public works projects to improve infrastructure.

The government said in January it may need $150 billion of investment in roads, power plants and other projects to create more jobs and accelerate the pace of economic growth during the next five years.

Sales by all Indonesian cement makers, including Gresik and smaller rival PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, gained 1.5 percent to 3.62 million tons last month from a year earlier.

Exports fell 10.9 percent to 580,129 tons last month, while domestic sales rose 4.2 percent to 3.04 million tons.

In the nine months ended Sept. 30, total cement sales in Indonesia rose 7.8 percent to 24 million tons, while exports fell 15.8 percent to 4.92 million tons. -- Bloomberg