Cimentos de Moçambique, the Mozambican subsidiary of Cimpor, saw a 9.8 per cent rise in sales last year to 1.3Mt as the start up of two new mills and a more “aggressive commercial policy” improved competitiveness in 2013 against imports.

The most recent estimates indicate that Mozambique's GDP grew about 6.5 per cent in 2013, led by the construction and agriculture sectors, Cimpor noted in its latest annual report. The domestic cement market continued its upward trend and grew more than the economy last year, rising 10 per cent YoY, the Portuguese cement major added.

Cimpor’s Mozambique turnover rose by 5.4 per cent o EUR141.9m, a 5.4 per cent YoY increase.  However, the company said “a slight increase of the price in local currency and increased sales were not enough to overcome problems with operational performance, which was marked by irregular limestone supplies.” Therefore, EBITDA decreased nine per cent compared to 2012, in line with the appreciation of about 8.7 per cent of the euro against the Mozambique metical.

Investments totalled EUR 24.5m in 2013, with the year’s main investment being the installation of the new Dondo mill. Last year, both the Dondo and Nacala mills came on-line.