Jevans Nyabiage
30 October 2009
Nairobi — Cement maker, Athi River Mining's pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the year rose 33 per cent.
The firm's pre-tax profit rose from Sh510.7million recorded over the similar period of 2008 to reach Sh677.4 million.
ARM's turnover grew by 11 per cent from Sh3.4 billion to Sh3.8 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2009.
Earnings per share rose 32 percent from Sh4.61 in the same period a year ago to Sh6.09, the company said in a statement sent through Nairobi Stock Exchange.
Besides cement, the company also trades in lime, sodium silicate, minerals and fertiliser.
On Monday, ARM managing director Mr Pradeep Paurana said the firm was investing about Sh12.5 billion to fuel further expansion at its cement making facilities located in Kenya and Tanzania.
ARM is doubling the capacity of its cement plant at Kaloleni, Mombasa to over 750,000 tonnes per year through an upgrade of its existing facility and the building of a new grinding plant in Athi River at an estimated cost of Sh2.5 billion.
The firm's managing director Mr Pradeep Paurana said the company is taking a long-term view in its strategy and anticipates significant growth in demand for cement in the region.
ARM has also commenced the construction of a 4,500 tonnes per day cement plant in Tanga, Tanzania at an estimated cost of Sh10 billion.
Construction work has also started on another cement grinding plant in Dar-es-Salam. The combined increase of capacity in Kenya and Tanzania will make Athi River Mining Ltd the second largest manufacturer of cement in the region in the next 2-3 years.
To help it manage its energy costs, ARM is said to be constructing a coal plant at Kaloleni, Mombasa, with a capacity of 29 Megawatts. The Sh4.2 billion project would be under the company's new ARM Energy subsidiary.
Of the 29MW, the company would sell 19MW to KPLC, but it would not use all of the remaining 10MW as some would be reserved as power buffer.
When the project is completed in December 2011, the company would save on the Sh468 million it spends annually on power bills. Electricity accounts for 30 per cent of the firm's total expenses.
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