Suez Cement's net profit registered EGP 118.9m in the first half (1H) of 2015, compared to EGP 311.9m in the same period of 2014, the company announced, referring to its consolidated financial statement. On a quarterly basis, net profit for the second quarter (Q2) marked EGP 60.9m, down from EGP 142.5m in Q2 of 2014, the company said. Suez Cement is seeking to increase its energy intake and its production capacity by 15%, according to Bruno Carrè, the company's Managing Director in Egypt, during the Milan Expo 2015. He added that the company will not file a request to obtain a new cement licence. Carrè also announced in March that the company will convert two new facilities to coal in 2015, adding to two facilities that were converted in 2014. "We are investing some EGP 400m per year for four years," Carrè said. "We have done one and we converted two plants and we have another two plants to complete." Carrè had previously stated that he expected Suez Cement's revenues to keep growing in 2015 at a rate of 10% to 15%. On 26 March, the company donated EGP 30m to the Long Live Egypt fund. A cheque worth EGP 10m was given to Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb. The remaining EGP 20m will be given over the next two years, with EGP 10m each year. Following the government's approval in April last year to use coal as a source of energy in the industrial sector, cement companies in Egypt took steps to commence testing coal in thermal power generation. Last May, cement factories faced difficulties as they said the specifications set by the Ministry of Environment on trade, transport, coal storage, and the energy mix, are stricter than European specifications.
