Egyptian cement producer Qena Cement’s first-half net profit increased by 14 per cent YoY to EGP165.3m (U$23m) compared with EGP144.9m a year earlier.

The company’s sales for the six months to the end of June 2014 rose 25 per cent YoY to EGP559m.

In other news, the company’s board has agreed to convert to using coal as an energy source at an investment cost of around EGP400m.