Saudi cement producer Eastern Province Cement Company (EPC) registered 7.0 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to 277 mln Saudi riyals (US$73.9m) for 2004, the company’s board chairman, Abdullah Zamil, said.  EPC’s net profit for 2003 stood at 257 mln riyals ($68.5m). The company paid a 35 pct cash dividend for 2003.  EPC, based in Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia, was established in 1982 as a joint stock company under the name of Saudi-Kuwaiti Cement Company. The company changed its name to Eastern Province Cement Company in 1994 and is now wholly owned by Saudi investors.