El Ezz Aldekheila Steel's net profits after tax registered a 59 percent increase in the first nine months of the year, reaching LE967 million ($130.14 million) as compared to LE 570 million ($81 million) last year. Beltone Securities Brokerage attributes the profit hike to "higher steel prices and a significant gross processing margin (GPM) increase to 19 percent from 14 percent a year earlier." The company's sales have jumped from LE8.7 billion to LE10.1 billion ($1.4 billion) over the same period, while profits before tax have reached LE 1.3 billion. Ahmed Ezz, the majority owner of El Ezz Aldekheila Steel, is currently in prison on a number of corruption charges, including money laundering, illegally procuring steel licenses, and receiving unmerited benefits from Egypt's Industrial Modernisation Centre. Last week, a Cairo court accepted an appeal by prosecutors against the release of Ezz and two associates on monopoly charges. Ezz and former company CEO Alaa Abul-Kheir were ordered by the court to pay fines of LE100 million ($14.2 million) each, while sales manager Samir Noaman was fined LE500,000 ($71,000). The three men were accused of monopolistic practices for penalising steel distributors that did not sell their entire market share each month by reducing their shares for the next month. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/86274.aspx
