CIMERWA Plc registered a record-breaking total revenue of Rwf103 billion in 2023, representing a 12 per cent increase from the previous year, raking in Rwf15.6 billion in Profit after Tax. The firm’s financial year ends in September. Despite the economically challenging year, the firm recorded strong performance on the back of optimisation of production processes, cost-efficiency initiatives, and a revamped route-to-market approach for both domestic and export markets. ALSO READ: CIMERWA boss weighs in on Rwf5.2bn half-year net profit James Oduor, CEO of CIMERWA, said the company managed to boost the production capacity to 90 per cent which allowed the increase in export and domestic sales while cutting logistics costs given the recent rise in fuel. “There are several things we did. We managed to grow our sales of bulk cement mainly for the [Bugesera] airport construction. We were able to grow our export sales due to the growth in the number of our customers, and we also tapped into the Burundian market which is about 500,000 tonnes per year.” In 2023, cement exports grew by 23 per cent of production compared to 21 per cent recorded in the previous year, while the domestic market remained consistent with 8 per cent growth driven by local infrastructure projects, he said. CIMERWA has a production capacity of 600,000 tonnes and Oduor noted that the firm was able to reach 92 per cent capacity utilisation, however, the goal is to reach full capacity utilisation with proper optimisation mechanisms in place. “We have two big projects earmarked for January 2024 that will help to increase that capacity. We will change major components of a cooler retrofit and the raw mill which will deliver incremental capacity.” Expectations from Kenya’s national cement stakes in the firm In November, National Cement Holdings Limited entered into share purchase agreements with PPC International Holdings Proprietary Limited and local minority shareholders to acquire 99.94 per cent of CIMERWA. ALSO READ: CIMERWA, Rwanda’s leading cement producer, to become majority owned by new long-term investor committed to regional expansion “We see this as a positive step because first of all, CIMERWA has the vision to be the largest producer within the Great Lakes region and this partnership will help in an accelerated realisation of that vision because National Cement comes in with strong financial and technical expertise, as well as a much stronger footprint and expanded regional network within the East African region,” Oduor said. However, he noted that this is a shareholder transaction and the business will continue operations as usual as the process to fulfil the conditions of acquisition takes place. “The board recently sat and withheld the decision for dividend pay-out because of the pending transaction.” ‘Cautious optimism for future plans’ Going forward, the CEO said they look at the future with cautious optimism given the mix of economic challenges in the macro environment, such as currency depreciation, inflation, and high fuel prices. “We have to continue to focus on what we have always done which is supply of quality cement in a safe, effective, and efficient market model for our customers. Equally important, is also our commitment to sustainability as an imperative approach to our strategy,” he said. Oduor highlighted that there has been a lot of progress in the journey of sustainability such as replacing coal with alternate fuels of biomass and renewable energy which contributed to the quality of products while being environmentally beneficial.
