Kolos Cement posts MUR48.5m loss

Mauritius-based Kolos Cement reported losses of MUR48.5m (US$1.06m) in the January-March 2023 quarter. The company’s turnover increased 9.4 per cent to MUR522m when compared with MUR477m in the January-March 2022 quarter.

Inflation, exchange rate volatility, and rising raw material and fuel costs impacted on the company’s profit margins. For example, fuel costs were up by 264 per cent YoY and packaging expenses by 80 per cent.  

“Our losses are attributed to increased costs locally and internationally, combined with the inability to pass those same costs back to consumers in the market,” according to Kolos Cement.

“The exchange rate has had a huge impact on our business because our purchases of raw materials are made in US dollars. The dollar rate, among other things, has gone up since the start of COVID and Kolos Cement has not been able to pass on the full impact and is still subsidising a large part of the costs,” it added. In March 2023, the US dollar was trading at MUR46.19, compared to MUR43.88 in March 2022 and MUR34.17 in 2019.