Arabian Cement Company (ACC), a leading Egypt-based company, has registered a 17 per cent growth in its revenue for the first nine months, which rose to E£1.78 billion ($248 million) compared to E£1.5 billion ($209 million) last year.

The net profit dropped 35 per cent year-on-year to E£200.4 million ($28 million), while the net profit margin was down nine per cent, said the company in a statement.

This was mainly due to the combined impact of the expiration of the company’s tax-exempt status - ACC is now taxed at the newly increased corporate rate of 30 per cent - and non-recurring expenses associated with the company’s listing earlier this year on the Egyptian Exchange.

On the results, CEO Jose Maria Magrina said: "Despite the impact of challenges including fuel scarcity, I am pleased with both our operational and financial performances in the first nine months of the year, even as we suffered some erosion of our bottom line due to the planned expiration of our tax-exempt status and of charges related to our IPO (initial public offering)."

Magrina pointed out that the greatest challenge the company faced during the nine months was energy availability.

"Our production and utilisation rates have been adversely impacted by the ongoing fuel shortage, although both are now on the rise following our successful conversion of our facilities to run on alternative fuels," he stated.

He said the ACC's balance sheet was quite strong, with a 15 per cent reduction in outstanding debt. "In summary, so far this year, ACC has faced and overcome operational challenges posed by the nationwide energy crisis that have hobbled others in our industry," he stated.

"We executed the first IPO in Egypt since the 2011 revolution; outfitted our facilities to operate using alternative fuels; and absorbed the impact on our earnings caused by an unfavorable foreign exchange climate and the expiration of our tax exempt status," remarked Magrina.

"While doing this, we laid the groundwork for the early first quarter launch of a joint venture with Cementos Relampago, an affiliate of Cementos La Union (our majority shareholder), to establish a cement grinding facility in northwest Brazil. In short, it has been a very busy nine months for ACC," he added.-TradeArabia News Service