Egypt's Suez Cement to convert two factories to run on coal

Suez Cement, Egypt's largest listed cement maker by market value, said on Tuesday it planned to spend 600 million Egyptian pounds ($84 million) in 2015 on equipping two factories to run on coal due to the country's energy crunch.

Egypt is battling its worst energy crisis in decades. Rising consumption and decreasing production have turned it into a net energy importer in recent years and caused regular blackouts.

The cabinet approved the industrial use of coal in April and companies are now in the process of fitting their plants to run on imported coal, a move Suez has said should help boost output and reduce costs.

The company posted a 40.5 percent rise in third-quarter profit last month after it managed to pass on higher production costs to consumers.