Earnings watch

** EARNINGS WATCH: Top dairy and juice products maker Juhayna reported that “severe inflationary pressures on the company’s cost base owing to the float of the Egyptian Pound on 3 November 2016 took a toll on bottom-line profitability, with the company turning a Net Loss of EGP 115 million in 4Q16 compared to a profit of EGP 61 million in the same period last year,” it said in a regulatory filing. On a full-year basis, an 18% year-on-year rise in revenues to EGP 4.9 bn wasn’t enough to prevent an 81% dip in net income to EGP 54 mn. The company said rising sales will help it return to profitability through operational efficiencies, increasing reliance on domestically produced raw materials and through cost discipline.