On August 21, West Cement (02233. HK) announced its interim results for 2023, the group's revenue increased by 5.9% year-on-year to RMB4.398 billion, and the profit attributable to owners of the company was RMB532 million, representing a decrease of 19.1% year-on-year. The decrease was mainly due to the decrease in gross profit and the increase in income tax expense as mentioned above. Basic earnings per share decreased from RMB12.1 cents in the first half of 2022 to RMB9.8 cents in the first half of 2023.
In the first half of 2023, the growth rates of China's fixed asset investment ( "FAI") and real estate development investment ( "Rdi") both deteriorated. In the first half of 2023, investment in fixed assets and investment in real estate development in Shaanxi Province increased by 1.4% (2022: 9.4%) and decreased by 5.9% (2022: increased by 4.6%), respectively. The deterioration of the growth rate of fixed asset investment and real estate development investment has led to a decline in the demand for cement products in Shaanxi Province as a whole. Fortunately, the fierce competition on the supply side is still an important factor affecting the average selling price of Shaanxi Province, which will continue to adopt intermittent peak staggering and shutdown during the off-season in accordance with the strict environmental protection policy to achieve a balance. Even with the aforementioned low average selling price in China, the Group was able to maintain an overall stable profit in the first half of 2023
due to the higher profit contribution from the African plant. Another important factor contributing to the Group's stable profit was that costs remained at a stable level as a result of the Group's successful implementation of efficiency improvements and cost reduction measures during the period.
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