East African Portland Cement expects its profit to slide by more than a quarter in the financial year ending June 30 citing year-earlier gains on land sales, it said on Thursday.
"The unrealised fair value gain on investment property and the gain on disposal of land will not recur this financial year," Portland said in a statement.
The company's pre-tax loss widened to 745.02 million shillings ($7.33 million) in the first half on higher finance costs and foreign exchange losses. Portland has foreign currency-denominated debt, meaning it faces higher repayments when the shilling weakens.
It said demand for cement was expected to remain strong due to numerous, ongoing infrastructure projects, but cautioned that an oversupply in the local market would weigh on prices in the short to medium term.
In response, Portland said it would control costs and expected a technical support agreement it has entered into with Lafarge Holcim to boost its operations.
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