Lafarge Maroc posts 784 mln dhs gains in 2003

Lafarge Maroc posted net gains valued at 784 million Dhs (10 Dhs= US $9.02), that is an increase of 16.5 percent compared to last year, Lafarge director general Jean Marie Schmitz, announced in Casablanca Tuesday.

He added that the cement company achieved a sales of 2.98 billion DHs during the same period, i.e. a 12.8 rise compared to the previous year. The director general said these figures are "highly satisfactory," explaining that the good performance of the company this year is the result of an exceptional increase of sales ("9 %) and the rise of the average sale price. He added that a new industrial lime manufacturing unit is being developed in Tetouan (northern Morocco) and will be operational in the second trimester of 2004 to pursue development in the fast-growing market in Morocco. According to Schmitz, the governing board also decided to build a new production line in Bouskoura, (near Casablanca) to increase the cement capacity by over 900,000 tons, explaining that this investment will significantly reinforce the plant's profitability. The production is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2006, he went on, underscoring that the project is expected to increase the company's production capacity from 3.9 million tons currently to 5.5 million tons. This investment will necessitate a global amount of 2.5 billion Dhs for the period 2004-2008.

Lafarge Maroc is a 50 percent subsidiary of Lafarge, held in partnership with Morocco's Societe Nationale d'Investissement (SNI). The Franco-Moroccan company already has four cement plants in Bouskoura, Tangiers, Meknes and Tetouan, and a total capacity of 4.2 million tons.