Tanzania Portland Cement Co Ltd (TPCC)Managing Director, Alfonso Rodriguez addressing the company’s shareholders during the TPCC 22nd Annual General Meeting in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday. On his left are board members; Company Secretary, Amon Elieneza, Board Chairman, Jean-Marc Junon and Joseph Rugumyamheto who is also TPCC board member.
By Staff Writer
Shareholders for Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) Limited will be smiling all the way to the bank as the company has increased 2013 dividends by 5%.
The company’s managing director, Mr Alfonso Rodriguez, said at the 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday that the board was proposing a dividend of Sh195 per share, up from Sh185 that was issued from the 2012 profits. And, participants to the AGM unanimously approved the proposal.
This however, is despite the fact that the cement firm suffered a 14 per cent drop in revenues in 2013 as compared to 2012.
Revenues dropped from Sh249.112 billion in 2012 to reach Sh213.775 billion in 2013. The company, which trades as Twiga, also saw its profit for the year falling from Sh61.578 billion in 2012 to Sh37.64 billion in 2013, mainly due to the fire that, earlier last year, razed the main transformer which feeds power to the plant.
“With the accident, we then started using imported clinker and also to rent and operate electricity generators, which resulted into an increase in operational costs,” said Mr Rodriguez.
The firm says soaring investments in infrastructure construction from the public and private sector make cement production a big business in Tanzania. However, the same attracts importers of the vital construction materials to flood the markets with cement that create an unfair playing ground to local manufacturers.
The company, which holds a 36 per cent market share of cement sales in the country, says cement imports went up by 27 per cent last year.
However, according to Mr Rodriguez, TPCC and other affected players were taking deliberate measures to deliver the right message regarding the impact of the imports to relevant authorities.
“While there is still enough capacity in the market, we are not saying put…today (Tuesday) we had a meeting with a parliamentary committee to explain to them the impact of these imports….we want them to understand how these imports impact negatively on Tanzania Revenue Authority’s (TRA’s) tax collections as well as on employment creation,” he said at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.
And according to the firm’s board chairman, Mr Jean-Marc Junon, local producers have chosen to present relevant authorities with all the necessary information regarding the impact of cement imports. “We talk openly to the authorities….we don’t want to be shy,” he said.
Looking forward, Twiga predicts that 2014 will also be a challenging year as it forecasts an increased competition mainly after commissioning of new capacities. However, the investments that the company was making in its new cement mill will start producing results in the second quarter of this year. “That way, we will be able to meet future market challenges,” said Mr Junon.