Tanzanian Portland cement sees increased demand

Tanzania Portland Cement Co (TPCC), a unit of HeidelbergCement, reported a rise in full year 2011 net profit and sees cement demand continuing to rise as it prepares to bring new capacity on-line.

TPCC reported net income in the 12 months through to December of TZS50.6bn (US$32m) up from TZS50.2bn. However, higher input costs and issues with electricity supplies hampered the company’s performance.  “Higher imports of clinker and frequent breakdowns of machinery resulting from the erratic power supply led to increased production costs” in 2011, Bloomberg quoted Managing Director, Pascal Lesoinne, as saying.

Going forward, infrastructure, residential and commercial projects are expected to fuel domestic demand this year in East Africa’s second-biggest economy. "It is forecast that the cement demand will continue to grow in the country as several areas are still at very early stages of development," TPCC chairman Jean Marc-Junon noted.  The construction sector grew 8.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011, from a growth rate of one per cent a year ago, according to the state-run National Bureau of Statistics.

A US$17m upgrade of the company’s clinker line is set to be commissioned at the end of this month and will end its reliance on imported clinker. "This will bring the total clinker capacity ... to more than 1.15Mta making it the single largest clinker manufacturing site in East Africa," the company said.