Egypt-based South Valley Cement Co on Sunday posted a 53 per cent YoY drop in profits for the first quarter of 2017, according to a bourse statement.

The company achieved profits of EGP20.1m (US$1.12m) in the three months ended March, compared to EGP42.85m in the corresponding period of 2016.

Cement sales increased to EGP261.55m in the quarter under review from EGP254.80m a year earlier, while the cost of sales rose to EGP226m compared to EGP204.7m in the same period of 2016.

The company noted that the re-evaluation of its profits from investments, which are estimated based on the fair value, fell to EGP282,000, compared to EGP19.9m in the same period of the year before.
The cement company logged profits of EGP104.14m in the three months ended December 2016, against losses of EGP1.83m in the corresponding period of 2015.