KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Affin Hwang Capital Research has downgraded Lafarge Malaysia Bhd to “Sell” at RM2.67 with an unchanged target price of RM2 and said there were no major surprises in its recent meeting with Lafarge’s management.

In a note today, the researhc house said Lafarge expects subdued domestic demand in 2019, given the prolonged soft property market and ongoing government review of public-sector projects.

“This will be partially offset by better export sales, driven by higher export volumes to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

“While we expect the depressed domestic average selling prices (ASPs) to continue in general, some ASP pick-up may occur moving forward as the rising production costs are passed through.

“Following the share price run-up recently, we downgrade our call to Sell from Hold with an unchanged target price of RM2.00,” it said.