Egypt’s ASEC Cement Co, part of the Egyptian-Swiss industrial group Arab Swiss Engineering Company (ASEC), reported a net profit of 1.79 mln Egyptian pounds (US$288,000) for the first nine months of 2004, compared to a net loss of E£44.77m in the same period of 2003. 

The company registered sales of E£631.1m (US$101.5m), while the cost of goods sold reached E£423.6m (US$68.1m). Gross profit totalled E£207.5m (US$33.4m) with a gross profit margin of 32.9 per cent.