Alexandria Portland Cement widens losses in Q2, H1

CAIRO – 6 August 2017: Alexandria Portland Cement Co.’s losses widened 20 percent to LE 165 million in the second quarter of 2017 compared to LE 138 million ($7.7 million) in the year-ago period, a Sunday statement said.

As for the first six-month period of this year, the company incurred losses after taxes of LE 193 million, up from LE 91 million in the same period of the previous year.

The company reasoned the increase in losses to higher electricity and fuel prices, which ended in higher transport costs, mainly due to the Egyptian Pound’s devaluation, the statement added.

Net sales increased 17 percent to LE 577 million by June 2017, up from LE 500 million in the same year-ago period.

Financing expenses hiked 84 percent to reach LE 333 million compared to LE 181 million by June 2016.

Gross profit for the first six months of 2017 amounted to LE 21 million, down from LE 48 million in the year-ago period. The decline is a result for the cost of sales being higher than the total revenues.

The cement firm reported that its production of clinker rose 12 percent to 736,000 tons in the first half of this year, after 655,000 tons in H1 of 2016. The increase was due to the usage of solid fuel.