5. - Secil

7.1. ECONOMIC
BACKGROUND
Cape Verde’s economy
continued to enjoy sustained
growth. Gross domestic
product is thou
ght to have grown by
5.9%, slightly down from
the growth of 6.9% in
2007 (IMF – Word Economic
Outlook – October
2008).
Economic growth in
the first half was consistent
with that in the
previous year, whilst a
slowdown was gradually
felt in the second
half, with deceleration
in the pace of execution
of a number of major
projects.
The inflation rate stood at 6.5%, higher
than in the previous year (4.5%). The leading
interest rate stood at 7.25%, slightly
lower than in 2007 (7.5%).
CEMENT
The construction sector experienced
moderate growth, due essentially to private
and residential construction. In the field of
public investment, the main development
was the start of extension works to the port
in the city of Praia.
In the political arena, the year
was marked by municipal elections,
in which the main opposition
part obtained a positive result.
In 2009 the slowdown felt in
the construction sector since mid-
2008 is expected to continue.
However, the private construction
sector should remain buoyant.
7.2. CEMENT
Cement consumption continued
to enjoy moderate growth, due
especially to private building and development
of tourism projects. Demand for
cement is thought to have stood at 339 000
tons, up by approximately 8% on the
previous year.
2007 2008 VARIATION
Sales 1 000t 34 28 - 18%
Turnover 1 000€ 3 712 3 188 - 14%
EBITDA 1 000€ 42 - 1 - 102%
Capex 1 000€ 7 5 - 29%
Headcount 17 14 - 18%
Secil Cape-Verde recorded sales of 28
000 tons which represents a decline of
18% in relation to the previous year; turnover
stood at 3.2 million euros, also
down by around 14%. This reduction in
business was due in part to the high level
of maritime freights which made it impossible
to achieve the desirable growth in
sales on certain islands in the archipelago.
7. Cape Verde
Secil Cape-Verde
The company’s performance was markedly
lower than in the previous year, with
EBITDA slightly in the red and much lower
than in 2007.
The construction sector and cement
consumption are expected to slow down
in 2009 due to the difficult situation in
the international front.