Lafarge’s Kenyan unit, Bamburi Cement, has posted an 11 per cent decline in full-year profit as fuel, electricity and transport costs increased.
Net income dropped to KES3.4bn (US$42.6m) in the 12 months through December, from KES3.8bn a year earlier, Hussein Mansi, managing director of Bamburi Cement Co, told reporters today in the capital, Nairobi. Sales climbed 24 per cent to KES27.4bn.
Chairman Richard Kemoli said the company has weathered
what would have caused a shake up in its returns by ensuring prudent
management of its resources and embracing information communications
technology in its operations.
Kemoli and Group CEO Hussein Mansi said Bamburi Cement which also owns
Hima Cement Company in Kasese, Uganda, intends to continue its
expansion, taking advantage of the growing demand in cement in the
region.
Bamburi will build a third cement plant in Kenya at a cost of KES7bn and double the capacity of its Ugandan plant to 680,000t a year by December, said Richard Kemoili, the chairman of the company.
The building and construction industry in the country grew by 8.5 per cent in 2007.