Japan: Taiheiyo Cement Corp has announced a net loss of USD67.7m from sales of USD2.14bn in the three months to 30 June 2011. The company's net loss was less than half the loss that it suffered in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, which was USD140.6m. The closure of three domestic factories in the previous quarter and smaller payrolls boosted its bottom line.

While sales at the firm's mainstay cement operations were nearly unchanged from 2010, its operating loss totaled USD15.6m, far better than the USD49.5m operating loss logged in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Cement demand in the Tohoku region fell in the wake of the massive earthquake that hit north east Japan in March 2011, but demand from construction of condominiums and commercial facilities rose in the Tokyo metropolitan area in particular, leading to the rise in sales.

Taiheiyo Cement expects its net profit through to the end of the current fiscal year (ending 31 March 2012) to jump by 150% to USD141.3m. The firm has also forecast that sales will drop by 2% to USD9.15bn and that operating profit will surge by 64% to USD351.5m for the full year.