Egypt: Misr Beni Suef Cement postpones coal mill

Misr Beni Suef Cement Company has postponed the installation of a coal mill at its Beni Suef plant to the 3Q17. The coal mill is expected to cost EGP18m (US$0.96m).

Managing Director, Farouk Mostafa, said the company had intended to install the mill in December 2016 but was forced to postpone due to the shortage in US dollars needed to import the mill and its spare parts, as well as the fall-out from the decision to float the Egyptian pound, which caused prices to hike. He explained that the decision called for re-evaluating the investment costs and reallocations of funds.

Misr Beni Suef Cement had earlier stated to the Egyptian Exchange its intention to sign a EGP100m deal with an Egyptian bank to finance part of the cost.

Moreover, Mr Mostafa said that the mill will play a big role in boosting the company’s operational capacity, which had dropped by 50 per cent last year due to blackouts. Estimated production stands at 1.5Mta.

Misr Beni Suef registered a 9M16 net profit of EGP115.47m, up from EGP 81.1m in the same period of 2015. Sales rose by 16 per cent to reach EGP1.17bn, up from EGP1.01bn the year prior.