NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 27 – Bamburi Cement Group has posted strong growth in both topline and pretax profit. Compared to the first half of 2020, topline grew by 21 percent while pretax profit grew more than five times over, to Sh1.1 billion, up from Sh213 million reported in the same period last year.
The cement maker attributes the topline growth to the recovery of the cement market against a depressing first half of 2020 impacted adversely by the Covid-19 containment measures introduced at the onset of the pandemic.
The Group recorded volume recovery in both the domestic and export markets coupled with an increased demand for premium cement products, pushing up the average selling prices and driving up the Group’s turnover up to Sh19.6 billion compared to Sh16.2 billion recorded in the comparative period.
Also benefiting the company is sustained infrastructure spending by governments and a rebounding construction sector as the economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic impact.
Of late, there has been increased spending by the government on infrastructure projects like the Nairobi Expressway, Thwake dam among others.
The company has cited “a higher proportion of sales of premium products in H1 2021”. Premium cement is largely consumed by big projects requiring special quality cement-like superior strength or waterproofing and fetches more favorable prices compared to ordinary cement.
Apart from the growth in topline, the company, through its Managing Director, Seddiq Hassani attributes this to “carry-over cost savings following the implementation of our ‘Health, Cost & Cash’ (HCC) action plan, that was adopted at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020”. The cost optimization agenda has enabled the company offset significant cost inflation on imported clinker and coal that has been absorbed in the reporting period, compared to last year. Financing Costs have also reduced by almost 50%”.
“We have a renewed commitment to operate sustainably in line with Holcim’s agenda of Building Progress for People and Planet. To achieve this, Bamburi has lined up carbon emission control and circular economy initiatives that will safeguard the environment and also deliver cost-efficiencies and add greater value to the stakeholders,” Hassani added.
The sustainability initiatives include, Houses of Tomorrow (HoT) project – an initiative on green building solutions which includes use of low carbon emission products, a growing portfolio of Green Cements, as well as continued quarry rehabilitation, water and biodiversity management, and waste management through co-processing partnerships with waste producers to provide environmentally clean waste disposal options, among other projects.
Seddiq Hassani noted: “The past year has been a learning curve that has enabled us to evolve towards more modern business practices as we continue to set industry standards on quality, operational efficiency, and innovation. We maintain a positive outlook for the rest of the year as the government continues to roll out the Covid-19 vaccination programs and ease-off containment measures which we hope will continue to drive progressive economic recovery”.
Dr. John Simba, Chairman of Bamburi Cement PLC concluded: “The Kenyan government’s continued commitment towards delivery of the ‘Big 4’ agenda and the ongoing key infrastructure projects in oil and gas in Uganda continue to generate positive prospects for the Group”.
