Breakdowns cost Khayah Cement 1,000 hours

Nyashadzashe Ndoro

Chief Reporter

Khayah Cement Limited, formerly Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Limited's 2023 financial year, was marked by a series of costly breakdowns which led to the company losing at least 1,000 hours of production time.

Despite experiencing costly breakdowns and drawdowns, the company has implemented strategic changes and invested in critical capital projects, resulting in a 38% increase in total volumes across the board.

According to the trading update released by the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed cement company, the company's kiln suffered frequent and costly breakdowns, resulting in a loss of 1,000 hours of production time.

"The breakdowns were largely caused by the three-year postponement of the kiln maintenance shutdown due to working capital constraints," said Acting Chief Executive Officer, Innocent Chikwata.

"Consequently, a strategic decision was taken to mothball this plant during the last quarter of 2023 and focus on a grinding station model whilst the kiln is being repaired."

The company has also implemented a short-term rapid high-impact plan, which successfully achieved the key objective of stabilising the business during the first half of the year.

The plan involved critical capital projects such as improved packing capacity at the GML line, investment in improved state-of-the-art laboratory equipment for quality control, and a fleet of bulk tankers to service large construction projects.

Khayah Cement Limited has also welcomed the government's efforts to protect the local industry from imports, which have impacted general market preference of products due to pricing.

"We commend the government's efforts to regulate cement imports and maintain the viability of the cement industry," said Chikwata.

Looking ahead, the company expects the need to regulate cement imports, bring inflation under control, address electricity shortages, and improve the state of the global economy to dominate its performance for the year 2024.

"We are uniquely positioned to support government-driven initiatives through our Dry Mortar Products, which include agricultural lime," said Chikwata.

"We are optimistic about the future and will continue to adapt our business strategy to thrive in the ever-changing environment."

"We are satisfied with the positive trend in production, sales, and profitability recovery despite power voltage fluctuations and believe that overall performance will continue improving going forward," said Chikwata.

The company's audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 are expected to be published by 30 June 2024.

"We appreciate the support of our stakeholders and look forward to continuing to work together to achieve our goals," said Chikwata.