Lack of major national projects and large commercial infrastructure projects saw Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Limited report reduced revenues for the half year ended 30 June 2015.
Lafarge, whose biggest competitor is Pretoria Portland Cement, reported a 9.71% decline in revenue to $25.4-million from the previous comparative period.
Volumes of cement sales were 7% lower than the prior period due to consumer resistance emanating from multiple economic factors.
As a result the company reported a loss of $1.38-million against a loss of $1.32-million in the prior comparative period.
The drop in Lafarge’s revenues comes at a time when rival PPC plans to boost production capacity in Zimbabwe to 1.5-mtpa from the current 1.1-million tonnes, following the completion of the company’s Msasa plant next year.
PPC MD, Njambo Lekula said the $86-million plant is expected to be commissioned in September 2016 and will have a capacity of 700 000 t.
Meanwhile Aliko Dangote is reportedly planning to build an integrated $400-million, 1.5-mmtpa cement plant in the country. Construction is expected to begin in Q1 of 2016.
