CAITONG SECURITIES·2025-09-01 11:21Core Insights - The report maintains a positive outlook on the building materials sector, emphasizing the potential for recovery in consumer building materials and cement industries [1][4] - The performance of consumer building materials has shown significant differentiation, with companies like Sanke Tree demonstrating strong alpha, while the overall market remains under pressure due to real estate challenges [6][7] - The cement industry has experienced a notable decline in costs, leading to a counterintuitive increase in net profits despite lower production levels [6][8] Consumer Building Materials - In H1 2025, the performance of consumer building materials was mixed, with Sanke Tree outperforming its peers due to an optimized competitive landscape and strong brand effects [6][7] - The real estate sector remains under pressure, with a reported decline in construction and sales areas of 16.5% and 4.0% year-on-year respectively [6][7] - Sanke Tree's gross margin improved significantly, with increases of 2.7 and 4.3 percentage points in Q1 and Q2, attributed to high-margin products and enhanced service quality [6][7] - Other companies like Rabbit Baby also saw stable performance due to product structure optimization, while competition in waterproofing and piping remains intense [6][7] Cement Industry - The cement sector faced a "strong then weak" trend in H1 2025, with production down 4.3%, marking the lowest level since 2010 [6][8] - Despite revenue declines for major players like Conch Cement and Huaxin Cement, gross margins improved due to falling coal prices, resulting in profit growth for these companies [6][8] - The average price per ton for major cement companies increased year-on-year, with Conch Cement and Huaxin Cement seeing price rises of 5.6 and 25.7 respectively [6][8] - Starting in August, some regions began to raise prices, indicating potential improvements in supply-demand dynamics for the second half of the year [8]