Ruentex Materials Co (潤泰精材), which provides cement production services and products, said it plans to diversify its product portfolio further this year, in response to weakening demand in the nation’s housing market.
In the first three quarters of last year, domestic cement consumption declined 11 percent year-on-year to 7.6 million tonnes, company president Chiu Hui-sheng (丘惠生) told an investors’ conference on Thursday last week.
“Our shipments of cement also dropped 5 percent annually to 556,550 tonnes during the period,” Chiu told investors, saying that the nation’s demand for cement might continue to shrink this year. “Therefore, we hope to raise sales contributions from building materials and our interior decoration business.”
Sales from the company’s cement business currently make up 51 percent of its total sales, while revenue from building materials and interior decoration services account for 27 percent and 22 percent respectively.
Ruentex Materials manufactures high-end building products, including ready-mixed mortar, thermal insulation materials and soundproof flooring.
Ready-mixed mortar obviates the need for on-site cement mixing, thus cutting labor costs and waste.
Despite weak sentiment in the housing market, rising concern with product quality is expected to help stimulate demand for ready-mixed mortar this year, Chiu said, without giving a detailed forecast.
Ruentex Materials is also upbeat about the growth momentum in its interior decoration business, and is aiming to secure a larger share of the nation’s luxury interior design market this year.
“We cooperated with many global brands building offices in Taiwan last year and the demand for high-end interior design services is expected to remain robust,” Chiu said, citing Microsoft Corp and Ricoh Co.
The company plans to open more outlets for its interior design business in the north of the nation, and has set a near-term expansion target of 150 stores.
In the first three quarters of last year, Ruentex Materials saw its sales drop 17.1 percent to NT$2.14 billion (US$662.97 million) from NT$2.58 billion in the same period of 2015, company data showed.
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