East African Portland Cement Company will reportedly swap its expensive yen-dominated loans for dollars this month and convert to a coal driven plant in efforts to cut cost and return to profitability in 2011. The Kenyan cement-maker reported a loss of Sh292 million in the year to June, 2010, compared to a profit of Sh1.8 billion a year earlier, with the drop blamed on costs arising from exchange losses from the Japanese loan and high energy costs.
EAPC will also start using coal to fire its kilns in order to cut its energy expenses — which account for half of its production cost— by at least 30 per cent. The CEO, Kephar Tande, told Business Daily that the firm has already secured the services of a local bank to exchange the Sh3.6 billion worth of Japanese Yen for more favourable dollars.
