[Original] Egypt's Energy Shortage Is Serious, Suez Cement's Third Quarter Profit Increased by 40.5%

   Suez Cement, Egypt's largest listed cement company, reported on November 2 that its net profit after tax in the third quarter was 7.3 million US dollars, up 40.5% year-on-year, thanks to the control of production costs. However, the problem of energy shortage is still serious.

   Energy shortages led to a 14.6% drop in the group's net profit in the first three quarters of last year. So far, the Group has cut cement production by 40%.

   Power cuts and fuel shortages will remain major problems for cement producers. The group said that energy and fuel shortages posed a greater challenge to the target production.

   In January this year, the Egyptian government began to restrict the supply of natural gas in order to ensure the daily needs of residents and avoid social unrest caused by power outages. Major enterprises, such as Suez, have to import clinker at high cost to ensure the production and operation of enterprises.

   In April this year, the Egyptian government agreed to use coal for industrial power generation. Coal became the main fuel for power generation. "Coal power generation will help promote production growth and reduce production costs," Suez said. "In the next two years, coal will be the company's main fuel, and the group is also committed to diversifying its energy structure through waste utilization and fuel extraction.