Athi River Mining profit up 16 per cent, Kenya
Kenya’s third largest cement maker, Athi River Mining has returned a 16 per cent increase in pre-tax profit for the first half of 2010, in an industry witnessing price wars and sluggish sales.
The firm’s unaudited results for the six months ended June 30, 2010, show that earnings before tax increased from KES449m similar period 2009 to KES519m.
Turnover rose from KES2.4bn to KES2.8bn, a 19 per cent jump, of which the cement business contributed 53 per cent.
Managing director Pradeep Paunrana on Monday told the Daily Nation that all business divisions registered a growth in volumes, and because overhead costs have been kept in control, margins have increased with higher volume growth.
“Outlook for cement industry growth is still very good. The company continues to be confident of the outlook for its businesses. Economic environment and demand for products is expected to remain positive,” said Mr Paunrana.
He said the overall volumes for cement are still growing in Kenya and in the region noting that new entrants have taken a large share of the market. The company is building a 1.5Mta plant in Tanzania with construction scheduled for completion in early 2012.
Published under Cement News
