Kenya Athi River 1H profit rises, demand strong
Kenya’s Athi River Mining posted a 23 per cent rise in half-year pretax profit and said demand for cement in the region remained strong.
Athi River posted a pretax profit of KES636.30m for the period ended June 30 and said turnover climbed by 30 per cent on the back of an increase in cement production.
"Demand for all the company products remains strong. The company has taken measures to counter the impact of higher input costs, depreciation of the local currency, the highly competitive environment and the effect of the drought in the country," the company said in a statement.
Athi River said a 1.5Mta cement plant in Tanzania’s commercial city of Dar es Salaam was on schedule to open in the first quarter of next year.
An integrated clinker and cement plant in Tanga would be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2012, it added.
Athi River hopes to establish a market in newly independent South Sudan, which it expects could grow significantly faster than the rest of east Africa. Heavy investment in infrastructure and increased aid flows into South Sudan are expected to spur an economic boom if it remains politically stable.
Published under Cement News
