Egypt's Suez Cement reported a 28.8 per cent rise in first-half net profit before minority interest, the stock exchange said on Sunday.

A subsidiary of Italy's Italcementi, Suez Cement posted a profit of 768.99 million Egyptian pounds ($145.1 million), up from 597.04 million a year earlier, the bourse said. It gave no further details.

Shares in Egypt's largest cement firm by market value were down 10.1 per cent to 40 pounds by 1126 GMT.-Reuters