The Zhitong Finance App learned that cement stocks generally fell in early trading. As of press release, China Building Materials (03323) fell 5.21% to HK$2.73; Western Cement (02233) fell 3.03% to HK$0.64; China Resources Building Materials Technology (01313) fell 2.34% to HK$1.24; and Conch Cement (00914) fell 2.09% to HK$15.94.
Shen Wan Hongyuan pointed out that due to the influence of the real estate side, cement prices have always been low throughout the year. According to Digital Cement Network, the average annual price of 42.5 cement was 394.72 yuan/ton, down 14.91% year on year. The average price in the fourth quarter was 374.36 yuan/ton, up 3.34% month-on-month, down 15.41% year on year, and the performance of sector companies was clearly under pressure.
According to Galaxy Securities, cement production for the full year of 2023 was 2,023 million tons, down 0.7% year on year. The decline was 0.2 percentage points narrower than in January-November. Among them, cement production in a single month in December was 158 million tons, down 0.9% year on year and 16.79% month on month. Demand for cement is weak in the short term. It is expected that after the temperature warms up in February, downstream construction is expected to usher in a peak season, and demand for cement is expected to increase; in the long run, the industry is overcapacity, and erroneous peak production is the norm. Infrastructure is expected to maintain high growth this year, real estate starts are expected to pick up, and demand for cement will improve.