By DAVID HERBLING
In Summary
- 39 - Age of Mr Daniel Pettersson, who is slated to become the next CEO at Hima Cement in Uganda.
- Bamburi Kenya will be headed by new chief executive Bruno Pescheux, who is currently the country CEO for Syria.
- Bamburi, which is majority-owned by French cement giant Lafarge, currently runs its Kenya and Uganda businesses as a single cluster.
Cement manufacturer Bamburi is set to appoint
chief executives for its Kenya and Uganda businesses in a shake-up that
will see the firm separate management of the two operations.
Bamburi, which is majority-owned by French cement
giant Lafarge, currently runs its Kenya and Uganda businesses as a
single cluster. The Kenyan business has three subsidiaries; Bamburi
Cement Ltd, Bamburi Special Products Ltd and Lafarge Eco Systems while
the Ugandan unit is managed as Hima Cement Ltd.
“With a view to improving focus on our markets it
has been decided that, starting July 21, 2014, the Kenya-Uganda cluster
will be managed as two separate country organisations each with a
country CEO and executive team,” said outgoing Bamburi chief executive
Hussein Mansi in a staff memo seen by the Business Daily.
Bamburi Kenya will be headed by new chief
executive Bruno Pescheux, who is currently the country CEO for Syria
while the current Hima Cement general manager Daniel Pettersson will be
promoted as the Uganda business’ boss.
“Bruno and Daniel will both report directly to Tom
Farrell, group EVP (executive vice president) operations,” said Mr
Mansi’s memo, which also announced his impending re-location to Lafarge
Egypt by the end of next month.
The executive changes underline the Nairobi
Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed firm’s quest to win back the highly
competitive Ugandan cement market, whose underperformance was blamed for
pulling down Bamburi’s net profit by a quarter last year.
“This new organisation will allow the business to
successfully continue its transformation journey and achieve its
ambitions by enabling greater flexibility in setting strategy and in
responding to local customer needs,” said Mr Mansi.
Bamburi is now controlled 58.6 per cent by Suisse
conglomerate LafargeHolcim, following the merger of Holcim and French
firm Lafarge in April.
Mr Pescheux faces the daunting task of growing
Bamburi Cement’s earnings in a market where increased competition from
new players such as Savannah, Mombasa Cement and National Cement has
kept cement prices flat over the past decade.
Bamburi reported that operating profit from the
Kenyan unit remained flat last year due to lower demand in the first
half of 2013, lower infrastructure spend as well as declining inland
Africa exports.
Mr Pettersson, 39, will oversee operations at Hima
Cement which reported a 58 per cent drop in operating profit last year
due to margin pressure in the Uganda domestic market, reduced exports,
frequent power outages and rising energy costs.
Bamburi’s net earnings dipped 25 per cent to Sh3.6
billion last year compared to Sh4.8 billion in 2012, attributed to
profit margin pressures in Uganda and lower export sales from Hima
Cement.
Its turnover decreased by 10 per cent to Sh33.9
billion last year also blamed on lower performance in Uganda
attributable to competitive pressure and lower exports to inland Africa
markets out of Uganda due to continued political tensions in those
markets.
Mr Mansi’s tenure at Bamburi has seen sales from
the Uganda factory drop two years consecutively to Sh14.5 billion or 43
per cent of total group revenue last year from 45 per cent (Sh17
billion) in 2012 and a peak of 49 per cent (Sh17.6 billion) a year
earlier.
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