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Kenya's BOC Gases says 2014 pretax profit down 10 pct

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan industrial gas supplier BOC Gases posted a 9.9 percent drop in 2014 pretax profit to 277.9 million shillings ($3 million), hit by competition from medical oxygen imports and higher electricity costs. The firm, an affiliate of Germany's Linde, said in a statement on Thursday that its revenues had risen to 1.3 billion shillings last year from 1.2 billion shillings in 2013. The company said it was unable to raise its prices to recover cost increases due to a more competitive market. Earnings per share rose to 11.76 shillings from 10.38 shillings in the previous year, it said, adding that it would pay a dividend of 5.20 shillings per share, unchanged from 2013. ($1 = 92.4500 Kenyan shillings)