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tate-owned cement maker PT Semen Indonesia (SMGR) saw moderate increases in both its top and bottom lines in the first nine months of this year, mainly driven by the rising sales of ready-mix concrete.

Semen Indonesia reported Thursday that it rounded up the nine month-period with a net profit of Rp 4.09 trillion (US$336.3 million), a 4.9 percent increase from the Rp 3.9 trillion year-on-year (y-o-y).

The firm'€™s revenues surged by 10.9 percent during the January to September period to Rp 19.3 trillion from Rp 17.4 trillion in the same period last year.

However, the firm'€™s ballooning foreign exchange loss of Rp 56.3 billion as of the third quarter of this year, more than a double from Rp 22.6 billion in the same period last year, pushed up its expenditures.

Cement became the main revenue contributor with total sales of Rp 15.2 trillion, or up 10.1 percent from Rp 13.8 trillion. The highest growth, meanwhile, was experienced by ready-mix concrete, which surged by more than 100 times to Rp 312.1 billion from Rp 30.6 billion y-o-y.

William Surya Wijaya, an analyst with Indosurya Securities, said that the contribution from ready-mix concrete would continue to increase in the future in line with the growing number of construction projects in the country.

'€œWhat I'€™ve seen is that the country'€™s construction and property sectors grow well, especially with a growing number of office buildings and toll roads,'€ he said.

The Public Works Ministry has previously estimated that the country'€™s construction market would hit Rp 500 trillion by the end of this year, up by 25 percent from last year.

Semen Indonesia, which recently planned to build a cement factory in Aceh, had successfully sold 19.1 million tons of cement by September this year, an increase from 18.5 million tons sold in the same period last year.

An analyst with Woori Korindo Securities, Reza Priyambada, said that although Semen Indonesia might be the market leader, the firm'€™s growth in the future would really depend on how it could grab new markets.

Semen Indonesia has currently been aiming to expand its business in neighboring countries, such as Vietnam and Myanmar.

The firm'€™s Vietnamese subsidiary, Thang Long Cement, recorded a better performance during the first nine months of this year despite suffering Rp 12.7 billion in net losses, since that was down from Rp 27.9 billion in net losses the company experienced in the same period last year.

William said that cement makers in the country would likely see continuing growth in the near future on the back of the government'€™s policy to develop more infrastructure.

For example, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has expressed an intention for Indonesia to once again become a maritime state, which will require the construction of new ports and other facilities.

Semen Indonesia'€™s shares, which are traded at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), dropped by 2.03 percent to Rp 15,700 apiece on Thursday'€™s close of trade from Rp 16,025 on the previous day.

Semen Indonesia is both a cement producer and a holding company for state cement firms PT Semen Padang and PT Semen Tonasa. It holds the largest chunk of the nation'€™s cement market with a 41 percent market share, followed by PT Indocement Tunggal Perkasa and PT Holcim Indonesia.