The Alexandria Cement Company recently notified Egypt’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) that its financial results for the year 2001 would be issued Wednesday, February 13, reported Al-Alam Al-Youm . The CMA had suspended an offer made by the company to buy out its remaining free float shares, until its annual results were made public. The CMA has also suspended the company’s shares from trade on the market.
When the sale offer was initially issued, Alexandria Development Ltd offered to buy the 12 million free-float shares—equivalent to a 20 percent stake in the company—at a price of 19.50 Egyptian pounds ($4.2) per share. However, several of Alexandria Cement’s shareholders expressed dissatisfaction with the bid, insisting that it undervalued their holdings. Alexandria Cement’s compliance with CMA’s disclosure requirements is expected to help shareholders make an informed decision.
The other 80 percent stake in the company is owned by Lafarge Company. The French giant now controls Britain's Blue Circle Industries, which bought the majority stake in Alexandria Cement two years ago, at EP80 a share.
Alexandria Cement registered EP17.44 million in audited net losses for the first nine months of 2001, compared to a net profit of EP6.04 million in the corresponding period the previous year.
The company achieved a net profit of EP7.1 million ($1.5 million) in 2000 before taxes on EP176.7 million net sales, down from EP 38.6 million for the previous year, a decline of 82 percent. Inventories as of 2000 declined to EP 40.6 million down from EP67.2 million the year before and liquidity also declined to EP 35.4 million, down from EP 37.9 million. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
