Suez Cement’s Board of Directors examines third quarter 2007 results
CONSOLIDATED NET SALES: L.E. 3073.3 MILLION
CURRENT GROSS PROFIT: L.E. 1329.8 MILLION
OPERATING INCOME: L.E. 1190.1 MILLION
NET PROFIT AFTER INCOME TAXES: L.E. 927.2 MILLION INCLUDING MINORITY INTEREST (L.E. 124.7 MILION)
Cairo, 13 of November 2007. At a meeting on October 29th 2007 chaired by Mr. Omar Abdelaziz Mohanna Suez Cement's Board of Directors, examined and approved the consolidated quarterly report at September 30, 2007.
During the third quarter of 2007 local cement consumption developed positively and Suez Cement and its affiliated companies (Helwan Cement Company and Tourah Portland Cement Company) increased the volume of sales by 11% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the third quarter of the year Suez Cement group reported net sales of L.E. 3073.3 million with an increase of % 14.1 compared to the same period of the year 2006; gross profit and operating income amounted respectively L.E. 1329.8 million and L.E. 1190.1 million while the net profit stood at L.E. 927.2 million with an increase of 11%. The improvement can be attributed to better results of the industrial activities.
The most significant changes in consolidation scope, in relation with acquisitions, realized in the third quarter of 2007, were the acquisition of 51% of the Kuwaiti Company Hilal Cement as well as the acquisition of the ready-mix company Decom. On one hand, the first deal represents the first-ever acquisition of a listed Kuwaiti company by a global company and one of the largest foreign direct investments in Kuwait; on the other hand through the acquisition of Decom, Suez Cement is currently the leading Egyptian ready-mix producer with 135 concrete truck mixers and an annual production capacity of more than 1.2 million cubic meters of ready mix.
In the past three months the Company has also established in cooperation with Unicalce, one of the world’s leading suppliers of lime, Suez Lime a new joint-venture company producing lime. Through Suez Lime Co. Suez Cement will enlarge its perimeter and expand its current activities by producing quicklime and hydrated lime, a segment with high growth potential for the Egyptian market in the coming few years.
During the first meeting held on October, 30th 2007 the Board of Directors of Suez Lime appointed Mr. Nabil Francis as Managing Director.
The full-year outlook remains positive, despite continuing pressure on the prices of raw materials and energy, whose repercussions on operating and logistic costs are significant.
Suez Cement and its affiliated companies are the biggest Egyptian cement producers, with an industrial network composed of five production factories in Suez, Kattameya, Tourah, Helwan and El Minya, for a total capacity of approximately 12 million metric tons of clinker.