Bangladesh: MI Cement will package growth
MI Cement Factory Ltd plans to grow on the back of higher domestic cement demand. Bangladesh is expecting rapid development in terms of new public infrastructure, communication and housing facilities.
At present, MI Cement Factory’s total cement production capacity is 5800tpd, or 1.74Mta.
The plan is to install a new cement packaging facility to help meet demand. "We have decided to set up another packing unit and 1500t capacity ordinary Portland cement silo to enhance the delivery capacity of our cement (Crown Cement)," said Mohammed Jaghangir Alam, chairman of MI Cement Factory Ltd.
"This will also help maintain the quality of our cement and thus keep the pace of increasing revenue," he said in the company's annual report.
Quoting a recent study, Mr Alam also said that per capita cement consumption in Bangladesh was still lower at 107kg, when compard with 210kg in India, 265kg in Pakistan, 310 kg in Sri Lanka and 570kg in South Korea, suggesting potential of future demand growth.
"The growing per capita income and socio-economic conditions of the people are pushing them to change their choice and taste towards modern home, further increasing the demand of construction materials including cement," he said.
Mr Alam said that in the fiscal year 2013-14, the political unrest hampered the day-to-day normal business activities of MI Cement and lessened its cement delivery.Still the company increased its revenue by 17 per cent compared to the previous year.
Cost of goods sold in the year ended on 30 June 2014 was BDT6731.73m (US$86.5m) as against BDT5731.17m (US$73.7m) in the previous year. This increase in cost of goods sold is mainly due to the fiscal year's higher sales volume comparing to that of the previous year. Operating profit increased to BDT937.10m from BDT 822.47m of the last year, reflecting the effect of increase in gross profit, said the annual report. In 2013-14, the company's turnover was BDT7990.64m against BDT6829.70m in the previous year, registering 17 per cent growth.
