Bizerte sees 4% rise in turnover, but debt weighs

Tunisia-based Société Les Ciments de Bizerte improved its turnover by 3.7 per cent to TND63.7m when compared with TND61.4m in 2016.

The company’s cement and lime deliveries increased by 3.2 per cent from 607,050t to 626,591t in 2017. Clinker production increased by just under seven per cent.

Les Ciments de Bizerte expects to commission new quay facilities in the first quarter of 2018 to support the company’s export sales and the discharge of petcoke for its cement works.

However, the company’s debt has shown an unprecedented surge in 2017, rising from TND93m in 2016 to TND145m at the end of December. This figure is in addition to management loans of TND36.1m. The company said it obtained medium- and long-term loans for the financing of its upgrade programme.