Paraguay’s state-owned cement maker Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) posted earnings of 3.42bn guaranís (US$548,296) at end-April this year, far surpassing the nearly 1.5bn guaranís in the whole of 2004. This year will be one of the most profitable on record, thanks to higher clinker and cement production, local newspaper La Nació quoted INC head Amícar Troche as saying. The company is in a position to export excess stock and has the lowest prices in South America, Troche said.
INC announced plans in April to invest US$30m to increase installed capacity. The move is to boost clinker and cement production in order to improve the company’s competitive strength. INC closed six straight years in the red before making a profit in 2004. Paraguay’s sole cement producer, INC has installed clinker production capacity of some 675,000tpa.
