The performance of cement and concrete producers on Borsa Istanbul since the beginning of the year has pointed to a clear divergence within the sector. While the BIST Stone and Earth Index has fallen by 26.80 percent, the shares of 15 companies in the sector have lost more than 10 percent of their value.
Despite this picture, Akçansa became one of the two companies to remain in positive territory with a 21.68 percent rise, strongly diverging from the sector average. The other company remaining on the positive side was Nuh Çimento, though the increase in its shares was limited to 0.34 percent.
One of the most significant developments for Akçansa during the year occurred in its ownership structure. In June, a 39.72 percent stake in the company's capital, held by Sabancı Holding, was transferred to a foreign partner for 427.8 million dollars. Following this transaction, Heidelberg's stake in Akçansa rose to 94.8 percent.
The strong outlook in share performance did not completely eliminate the pressure on the financial statements. Although Akçansa increased its sales to 13.7 billion TL in the first half of the year, it reported a period loss of 96.4 million TL.
Nuh Çimento, on the other hand, managed to remain in the green with a limited premium since the beginning of the year. While the company's first-half sales fell to 9.7 billion TL, a loss of 405.4 million TL was recorded at the end of the period. It was stated that the company has been researching investment opportunities domestically and abroad for some time, but has not yet taken a concrete step.
The weakest performance in the sector was seen in Batıçim Çimento. The stock has lost 63.74 percent of its value since the beginning of the year, becoming the company with the largest decline on the list. It was reported that Batıçim's loss in the last three months approached 84 percent, its revenue fell to 3.1 billion TL in the six-month period, and it closed the period with a loss of 139.8 million TL.
The outlook across the sector shows that declines in share prices should not be evaluated as investment opportunities on their own. The fundamental financial indicators of companies, such as sales, profitability, and debt, continue to be decisive in understanding the divergence in cement stocks.
News Source: 12punto
