Arabian Cement net profit beats expectations, Saudi Arabia
Arabian Cement posted a 3Q11 net profit rise of 28.4 per cent to SAR104.9m, exceeding estimates by Global Investment House (GIH) by seven per cent. The strong performance was not surprising, notes GIH, given a strong increase of 29.5% in cement dispatches to 0.91Mtin 3Q11.
The company cited increase in sales and production from its Rabigh plant as the major reason behind the surge in profitability on a YoY basis. However, it has incurred losses on its operation of the Qatranah cement plant in Jordan to the tune of JOD5.6m since the start of the commercial operations which has held back the performance to a certain extent. Arabian Cement is facing high fuel costs and intense competition in Jordan.
On a QoQ basis, net profit declined by 6.1% due to Ramadan and Eid falling in this quarter. 3Q11 saw a slowdown in construction activity which was reflected in the total dispatch figure for Arabian Cement Company which declined by 11.4%QoQ in 3Q11.
Published under Cement News
