ARM’s net losses widened 2.3 times to Sh6.5 billion in the year ended December on the back of lower sales and thinner profit margins.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm had made a net loss of Sh2.8 billion the previous year.
The cement manufacturer’s sales declined 32 per cent to Sh8.6 billion amid vicious price wars in the Tanzanian market where the commodity’s price fell 30 per cent.
ARM’s deeper losses ate into its shareholder funds which dropped by Sh7 billion to Sh27.7 billion.
“2017 was the most challenging for the group since the company’s listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in 1997. Whilst the management has navighated many business difficulties well in the past, raised capital for expansion, increased net profits and market capitalisation continuously over a 14 year period up to 2015, the challenges of the past year have been unprecedented,” ARM said in a statement.
The company’s share price has fallen steadily since its multi-year losses started in 2015, with the stock closing at Sh2.9 on Thursday in what assigned it a market value of Sh2.7 billion.
