Holcim Liban (HL) seems to have unexpectedly shielded its grey cement operations from the slowdown in the Lebanese real estate sector, as its unconsolidated net sales grew by 4.7% y-o-y in the first half of 2011 to LL 146.3 billion. Continued demand for grey cement which mostly serves the local market was supported by a boom in illegal residential construction on public property, leading unprecedented sales growth of grey cement bags. We believe this situation would hardly persist through the end of the year with the government interventions to limit construction violations.
Click below for the full report: