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Uganda Clays Limited

Digging holes for the piles (left: the clay that is dug up)
Brick laying

Uganda Clays Limited
Company typePublic Company
USE:UCL
IndustryConstruction
FoundedJuly 10, 1950; 74 years ago (1950-07-10)
HeadquartersKajjansi, Uganda
Key people
Marion Muyobo[1]
Chairman
Reuben Tumwebaze
Managing Director and CEO[2]
ServicesBuilding materials
RevenueIncrease (Aftertax) UGX:5.92 billion (US$1.69 million) (2021)[1]
Total assetsUGX:74.5 billion (US$21.3 million) (2021)[1]
Number of employees
652 (2014)
WebsiteHomepage

Uganda Clays Limited (UCL), commonly referred to as Uganda Clays, is a building materials manufacturer in Uganda. The company manufactures baked clay building products, using Italian-made heavy clay processing machinery. The clay is excavated using surface mining techniques. The company is listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), being the first equity to list on the exchange in 2000.[3]

Products

UCL's products include roofing tiles, bricks, interlocking and corner blocks, partitioning blocks, decorative grilles, ventilators, floor tiles, pipes, and cable covers. Of UCL's products, roofing tiles and bricks account for the largest portion of revenues generated from sales contributing 53 percent and 11 percent, respectively.[4] The company sells its products within the East African Community and in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The civil war in South Sudan forced UCL to close operations in that country in 2014.[5]

Overview

As of December 2021, the total assets of the company were valued at UGX:74.5 billion (US$21.3 million). During the financial year ending 31 December 2021, the company had a pre-tax profit of UShs17.2 billion (US$4.9 million).[1]

To reduce operational expenses, the company switched from using heavy fuel oil to coffee husks, as the power source to fire its furnaces, starting in 2015.[6][7]

History

UCL was started on 10 July 1950 by two private investors. In 1969, ownership of the company was turned over to Westomat Construction and Engineering Corporation (WCEC). In 1977, WCEC sold 75 percent of UCL to the National Housing and Construction Company, a parastatal company of the Ugandan government. Shareholding in UCL has changed hands many times. Over the years, the following entities have held partial ownership in the company:[8]

Ownership

As of 31 March 2018, the shareholding in the stock of the company, was as depicted in the table below:[9]

Uganda Clays Limited Stock Ownership
Rank Name of Owner Percentage Ownership
1 National Social Security Fund (Uganda) 40.52
2 National Insurance Corporation 17.86
3 Kenya Power and Lighting Company 2.25
4 Bank of Uganda Staff Retirement Plan 2.09
5 Joseph Baba N'Tukuratiire 1.76
6 Choi Hee-hak (Chief Administrator of Sedici Internazionale di Háfs) 1.38
7 Badou Pierre-Nkudou 1.38
8 Central Bank of Kenya Employee Pension Fund 1.36
9 Uganda Development Bank 1.13
10 National Social Security Fund Staff Investment Plan 1.06
11 2,672 Other Shareholders 37.22
Total 100.00

It is expected that in 2018, the debt amounting to USh23.2 billion[10] that is owed to NSSF will be converted to equity, raising NSSF's shareholding from the current 33 percent to 66 percent.[11] In July 2018, the Daily Monitor reported that the company was searching for a strategic investor, to increase the company's capital and facilitate the acquisition of new, modern production technology.[12]

Governance and management

UCL is governed by a nine-person board of directors, chaired by Martin Kasekende, an independent non-executive director.[13] The company is divided into five administrative departments under the overall supervision of the managing director, Reuben Tumwebaze.[2]

Facilities

As of 31 December 2014, UCL operated two factories:

References

  1. ^ a b c d Jonah Kirabo (26 April 2022). "Uganda Clays registers net profit of UShs:5.92 billion in 2021". Nile Post Uganda. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b Martin Luther Oketch (26 August 2021). "Uganda Clays registers 34% growth in sales". Daily Monitor. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  3. ^ Businge, Julius (14 February 2014). "Uganda Clays Turnaround". The Independent (Uganda). Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  4. ^ Uganda Securities Exchange (4 May 2018). "Uganda Securities Exchange: Uganda Clays Limited Company Details". Uganda Securities Exchange. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  5. ^ Kabona Esiara (20 August 2016). "Uganda Clays eyes regional markets: first stop in Rwanda". The EastAfrican. Nairobi. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  6. ^ Biryabarema, Elias (18 November 2014). "Uganda Clays says biofuels will help cut costs by up to 40 pct in 2015". Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  7. ^ Khisa, Isaac (11 September 2017). "Clays posts Shs2bn profit". The Independent (Uganda). Kampala. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  8. ^ Uganda Clays (22 August 2016). "About Uganda Clays Limited". Kajjansi: Uganda Clays Limited. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  9. ^ Uganda Clays (31 March 2018). "Uganda Clays Limited: Annual Report for the Period Ending 31 December 2017" (PDF). Kajjansi: Uganda Clays Limited. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  10. ^ Sanya, Samuel (12 July 2017). "NSSF abandons interest on Uganda Clays loan". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  11. ^ Kasemiire, Christine. "Uganda Clays continues to recover from years of loss making". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  12. ^ Martin Luther ATHUR (4 July 2018). "Uganda Clays searching for investors". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  13. ^ Uganda Clays Limited (29 August 2018). "Extract of the Unaudited Financial Statements for the Six Months Ended 30 June 2018" (PDF). Kampala: Uganda Securities Exchange. Retrieved 29 August 2018.