Kenya: Bamburi, Athi River slide on report cement prices may decline
Bamburi Cement Co retreated the most in two months and Athi River Mining (ARM) snapped two days of gains after a report said the price of cement may decline by as much as 10% this year.
Bamburi, the local unit of Lafarge, slid 3.6% to KES190 (US$2.28), the biggest drop since 6 January, by the 15h close-of-trading in Nairobi. Athi, the country’s third-largest cement maker, declined 0.6% to KES182.
Wholesale prices for a 50kg bag of cement dropped 9.1% in December, the Nairobi-based Business Daily newspaper reported. Further price declines may reduce cement companies’ profits, the paper said, citing Kephar Tande, CEO of East African Portland Cement Co, and Pradeep Paunrana, Athi River Mining’s managing director. Published under Cement News
