Cairo – Mubasher: The consolidated financial statements of Suez Cement showed a turn to losses during the first nine months of 2019.

The cement producer suffered net losses of EGP 495.51 million in the January-September period, against net profits of EGP 335.2 million in the year-ago period, including minority shareholders’ rights, according to a statement to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) on Monday.

Meanwhile, sales plunged to EGP 4.91 billion in the nine-month period ended 30 September, compared to EGP 5.66 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier.

The company ascribed the negative turn in the January-September financials to the oversupply and the reduction in demand, along with a drop in cement prices, in addition to the costs incurred for closing Torah factory last May.

As for the third quarter of the year, Suez Cement suffered net losses of EGP 193.7 million, versus net profits of EGP 96.94 million in Q3-18.

The company’s standalone financial indicators for the January-September period previously showed that the company incurred net losses of EGP 736.77 million, against net profits of EGP 267 million in the prior-year period.

It is worth mentioning that during the first half of 2019, Suez Cement logged net losses of EGP 301.8 million, versus net profits of EGP 238.2 million in H1-18, including minority shareholders’ rights.