Financial results from the major Chinese cement producers have been emerging this week. The market remains in a state of contraction with cement output and corporate revenue reflecting that. The difference, so far in the first half of 2026, is that increasing numbers of these cement companies are making a loss.
Firstly, cement output fell by 9% year-on-year to 741Mt in the first half of 2026 from 815Mt in the first half of 2025. This isn’t the steepest rate of decline for the first half since 2020 with worse rates reported in the first halves of 2022 and 2024, at 15% and 11% respectively. Output has been decreasing annually since at least 2021, at a mean rate of 8%/yr. Commentary by the China Cement Association (CCA) blamed the poor first half of the year on falling levels of investment on infrastructure and real estate. The former fell by 2.4% and the latter by 18% to US$566bn. Although the CCA did note a modest increase in spending on railways. Unfortunately July 2026 appears to have brought no respite with continued year-on-year decline in output of cement.
Graph 1: Cement output in China, H1 2020 to 2026. Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China.
Each of the large China-based cement companies detailed here reported heavy falls in revenue in first half of 2026 with the exception of Huaxin Cement. As in previous years this is due to that company’s focus on overseas investments. By sales volumes of cement and clinker, and based on sales revenue, Anhui Conch is the largest cement producer in China. CNBM has a higher revenue overall but it covers a wider range of businesses and we have restricted our coverage here to its Basic Building Materials Segment. Anhui Conch’s reaction to the poor first half of 2026 was to blame it on weak market demand, competition and ‘other factors.’ This may sound familiar to previous years. Unsurprisingly, it noted positive performance from its trading business (exports) and its overseas investments. It also recorded a wind and solar generation and energy storage capacity of 1431MW. This is a massive figure.
Graph 2: Sales revenue from selected Chinese cement producers. Source: Company financial reports.
CNBM’s Basic Building Materials Segment reported a similar story blaming falling volumes of concrete and prices for all three heavy building material. However, it did say that its sales volumes of aggregates rose. BBMG’s assessment was along the same lines although it also noted a ‘rebound in coal prices’ in the second quarter. Although it was more optimistic than the CCA on the local real estate market. spotting rising prices in certain key cities in the second quarter. It should be noted that BBMG runs property development and operation businesses. Finally, China Resources Building Materials Technology was circumspect about its situation. It did say that it had demolished several production lines through capacity replacement and that its cement capacity utilisation rate fell to 53.5% from 56.8%.
CNBM’s Basic Building Materials Segment, BBMG and China Resources Building Materials Technology all reported a loss in the first half of 2026. China Cement Network estimated this week that the cement sector in China would make a loss of US$450m - 750m in the first half. Of the 19 companies that have released financial results, 15 reported falling revenue and 10 reported losses.
Meanwhile, Huaxin Cement said it sold 34.8Mt of cement and clinker in the first half of 2026. 13.2Mt of this came from its overseas businesses, an increase of 57%. Notable overseas development in this period included the completion of the second phase of a grinding plant in Zimbabwe, a kiln upgrade in South Africa, restoring production at a plant in Mozambique with operation scheduled for late August 2026, work on a new production line at Dondo in Mozambique scheduled for the third quarter of 2026 and ongoing work on two production lines in Nigeria scheduled for the end of the year. The group said it had mostly completed preparatory work on its proposal to buy a majority stake in Holcim Philippines.
To finish, it has been a bad first half of the year for cement companies in China. This follows the market conditions of the last five year. What is new though is that increasing numbers of these companies also appear to be now making losses unless they can access overseas markets or different sectors. Something’s going to have to give at some point. In late August 2026 the woes of the real estate sector in China were reflected in the sentencing of Hui Ka Yan, the founder of company Evergrande sentenced to life in prison. His company has been emblematic of the issues facing the sector, and contributory ones such as building materials, in China since 2020.
