Brazil cement sector expected to grow 8% this year

Sales advanced 7.7% in September, hitting 5.8 mm tons; Holcim Brasil expects net to surge.

Brazil's cement industry is expected to rise 8% this year, on the back of the government social housing program and accelerated building ahead of the 2014 World Cup, a report from DCI said.

The industry has recorded sales advanced 7.7% higher in September compared to the same month last year, reaching 5.8 million tons. In the year, the evolution is identical, since the market reached 47.2 million tons, compared to 43.8 million.

"After four years of strong demand, we now have slower growth rates, more consistent with our economy," says National Union of the Cement Industry (SNIC) head Jose Carvalho.

According to him, events like the World Cup and the Olympics, a should not be the great levers of the sector. He states that such works only anticipate the contributions, unlike more sustainable programs such as the Growth Acceleration Program (CAP).

"Housing construction was largely responsible for the sector's revenues in the last five years," says Carvalho. In addition, the executive pointed out that increasing middle-class incomes has also helped to encourage the cement industry.

Holcim expects to accompany the expected growth in the sector this year, and selling 4.8 million tons of cement in 2011, representing an increase of 8% over 2010.

"Our demand is heated and have not yet felt the effects of the crisis," says director of corporate affairs of the company, Carlos Eduardo de Almeida Garroch. Holcim's net profit could rise almost 10% this year, according to company projections. Last year, the amount was R $ 1.3 billion.