Egypt Sinai Cement 9-month pre-tax profit up 4 pct

CAIRO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Egypt's Sinai Cement (SCEM.CA) reported a 4 percent rise in pre-tax profit for the first nine months of 2008 to 298.1 million Egyptian pounds ($53.9 million), the stock exchange said on Sunday.

The statement did not provide a reason for the rise.

In a separate statement, the company said it approved doubling its issued capital to 700 million pounds. The increase will be done through issuing 35 million free shares, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

Shares in Sinai Cement were trading nearly 1 percent up at 35.13 pounds by 1036 GMT. (Writing by Alaa Shahine) ($1 = 5.535 Egyptian pounds)