Citadel Capital’s cement sector shows quarter-on-quarter improvements

Citadel Capital has released a Business Review, focusing on the performance it its energy, transportation, agrifoods, mining and cement businesses. Results for the second quarter show total revenues for the Egyptian company are up 1.7% y/y to EGP 1.5 billion and standalone net profit reached EGP 3.5 million, up from a loss of EGP 9.2 million in 2Q12. The group’s founder and Chairman said that the company is generally pleased with its results, which underscore ‘the clear logic of our transformation into an investment company’.

Citadel’s investment in the cement sector reported aggregate revenues down 7.9% y/y to EGP 533.7 million from EGP 579.3 million in 2Q12. Though the cement division witnessed a 2.5% increase in revenues, this was offset by a 16% drop in construction revenues. EBITDA was down y/y, due in part to the temporary production stoppage at the Zahana plant in Algeria. However, quarter-on-quarter, EBITDA tripled to EGP 61 million thanks to improvements at the Al Takamol cement plant and a good performance from ARESCO, part of the construction division. The mining division also reported improvements, with a 6.6% y/y increase in revenues in 2Q13 and a 71.8% increase in EBITDA for the first half.

To read more about Citadel Capital’s cement division and how it has coped with in the wake of the Arab Spring, look out for our November issue, which includes an article from ASEC Cement. This issue will be available for subscribers to download at the end of this month.

Edited from various sources by Katherine Gu