Tanzania-based cement producer Tanga Cement reported a 36.7 per cent drop in first-half net profit due to increased competition and operating costs.

For the six months to the end of June 2013, net profit fell to TZS10.5bn (US$10.3m) from TZS16.6bn. "The low sale volume, together with reduced selling prices, reduced sales revenues by eight per cent to TZS122.62bn," company chairman, Laurence Masha, said in the statement.

Kiln maintenance undertaken in May should reflect positively in the second half of this year, Mr Masha noted but he also stressed that the outlook remains highly competitive and challenging.  Tanzanian firms have recently made fresh calls for the government to reinstate the East African Custom Union Protocol (EACUP) 2005 to protect the industry against an influx of imports. 

Tanga Cement is currently constructing a second kiln line at its factory in Tanga, scheduled for commissioning in 2015.