Italcementi, the world’s fifth largest cement company, feels that the global cement industry has bottomed out and will see more growth in Asia and a recovery in some mature countries. The company expects its own volumes to rise 0-5 per cent in 2011, after three years of declines due to a global economic and financial crisis. The world’s No 1 cement group Lafarge forecasts a 3-6 per cent rise in 2011 demand led by expanding economies in China, India, Indonesia, Turkey and Brazil where it has 70 per cent of its capacity. "We went through very tough market conditions in the last couple of years. We look to the future in a more positive way and we believe we are at the bottom of the cycle," said Carlo Pesenti, Chief Executive, Italcementi. The family-owned Italcementi posted a 36 per cent fall in 2010 net profit to 45.8 million Euros ($64 million), as weak activity in mature countries offset healthy performance in Egypt and Morocco and a significant improvement in Asia.