Low sales cut Bamburi profits by Sh3.9 billion

Bamburi Cement has announced that its net profit for the year to December 2017 has dropped by Sh3.9 billion to Sh1.97 billion due to lower sales in the Kenyan market.

The NSE-listed cement maker says it was hampered by the prolonged election cycle, tightened liquidity due to the interest rate capping law, drought and delayed infrastructure projects.As a result, Bamburi closed last year with Sh35.9 billion in revenues, representing a contraction of 6% when compared to Sh38.3 billion the firm recorded in 2016.

“The group’s turnover decreased following lower sales in Kenya due to the contracted market,” the cement maker said in a statement. “Uganda sales were broadly flat in both domestic and export markets.” The cement maker’s finance costs for the year under review increased nearly three times to Sh263 million.

Its assets increased from Sh21.8 billion to Sh33.2 billion following a revaluation on land, plant and equipment, which is conducted every five years, bumping assets in Kenya and Uganda by Sh5.7 billion and Sh419 million respectively.The cement maker says its capacity expansion of 1.8 million tonnes in the two countries is on course, with commissioning of the new plants scheduled for the second half of 2018.

Bamburi’s board of directors has announced a final dividend payment of Sh1.5 per share, which is addition to the interim dividend of Sh2.5 per share paid out last October. “The market is expected to rebound in line with the projected growth in domestic and regional markets in 2018,” the cement maker said in its statement. “The key focus will be the successful entry of the new capacity volumes into the market and improvement of customer offering.”