Bamburi Cement has posted a 78.2 per cent drop in net profit for the half year ended June, weighed down by flat sales and higher operating costs. Bamburi, which is 58.6 per cent owned by French multinational LafargeHolcim, saw its net profit drop to Sh399 million in the period from Sh1.83 billion a year earlier after revenues remained flat at Sh18.55 billion compared to Sh18.58 billion a year earlier.
The company, which recently undertook a Sh8 billion expansion programme in Kenya and Uganda, saw its operating costs rise by 9.16 per cent in the period to Sh17.3 billion compared to Sh15.9 billion a year earlier.
The cement maker said the expansion increased its annual production capacity by 1.8 million tonnes in Uganda and Tanzania.
In Kenya, expansion of the Athi River and Mombasa plants plant is expected to increase the company’s annual capacity to 3.2 million tonnes or 50.79 per cent of Kenya’s annual cement consumption. “The results showed mixed performance, with Kenya experiencing a contracting market closing at eight per cent behind the prior year,” said the firm in a statement.
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