Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) has said that it will not pay an interim dividend for the six month period ended June this year, following a 39.59 per cent drop in profit after tax.
The cement manufacturer, listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) as Twiga Cement, said that its profit after tax fell to Tsh19.25 billion ($12 million) from Tsh31.86 billion ($20.3 million) in 2012.
It attributed the reduced performance to a fire in May which destroyed the main transformer that fed power to its plant, thus hampering production.
An increase of cheap imported cement from Pakistan has also made it difficult for its products to effectively compete for market share.
Twiga Cement’s total dividends per share amounted to Tsh185 ($0.118) for the full year ended December 2012, the highest amount the company has paid per share in any year since 2008, of which Tsh50 ($0.032) was paid out in October 2012 as an interim dividend.
TPCC chairman Jean-Marc Junon said the completion of investments in Cement Mill 5, which is expected to bring additional capacity of 700,000 tonnes next year, will help improve volumes and lift revenues.
“The new investments will require financial resources over the coming months. The board is therefore not recommending interim dividends,’ said Mr Junon.
He added that that the company has had to rely on imported clinker and as a result of the fire, it had to rent and operate electricity generators. source the East African
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