Apr. 22, 2008 (China Knowledge) - Anhui Conch Cement Co<600585><914>, China's largest cement producer by output, said on Monday that its net profit almost doubled in the first quarter of this year thanks to expanded production and higher cement prices.

Net income soared 99% year on year to RMB 449.6 million in the January-March period, said the company in its quarterly financial results, citing the Chinese accounting standards. Sales jumped 27% to RMB 4.61 billion for the same period. But it did not provide comparable figures a year earlier.

Anhui Conch, which has an annual cement-making capacity of more than 10 million tons, is the biggest of 60 producers picked by the Chinese government to benefit from preferential policies on bank loans and land purchases.

It may benefit through 2009 amid undersupply in the country as projects like the Three Gorges Dam and the 2008 Olympics fuel demand for the product, and cement prices is likely to rise 13% in 2008 and 10% in 2009, according to analysts.