China: Huaxin Cement has published a figure for its predicted profit for the first nine months of 2020 of US$135m, down by 44% from US$241m in the first nine months of 2019. The company attributed the forecasted decline “mainly to the severe impact of the coronavirus epidemic in the first half of 2020 and the large-scale flooding in the River Yangtze in July.” It added, “The production and sales of the company s leading products were greatly affected, and prices also fell, resulting in operating income decline.” The company noted that third-quarter profit is expected to increase by 5% year-on-year. /Global Cement