The net profit of Kuwaiti cement manufacturer Kuwait Cement Company fell to
7.12 mln Kuwaiti dinars ($24.2 mln/20 mln euro) in the first half of 2004
from 15.08 mln dinars ($51.2 mln/42.4 mln euro) in the same period of 2003.

The company’s earnings per share (EPS) dropped to 18.97 fils ($0.064/0.053
euro) in the first six months of 2004 from 40.14 fils ($0.136/0.113 euro) in
the corresponding period of 2003. Kuwait Cement reported a net profit of
2.06 mln dinars ($7.0 mln/5.8 mln euro) and EPS of 5.5 fils ($0.019/0.015
euro) for the second quarter of 2004, down from a net profit of 10.92 mln
dinars ($37.1 mln/30.7 mln euro) a year ago.