Saudi Cement’s Q4 profit up nine per cent
Saudi Cement Co reported a nine per cent rise in fourth-quarter profit on higher productivity and sales.
Saudi Cement made SAR168.5m (US$44.9m) in the three months to December 31 against SAR154.6m in the same period of 2006, the company said in a statement.
"This increase in fourth-quarter profit is due to improvement of productivity ratios in both production and sales," it said.
Kuwait-based Global Investment House has expected Saudi Cement to post SAR161.9m in the fourth quarter, according to a Reuters survey last month.
Full-year profit reached SAR686.4m in 2007, or SAR6.73/ share, versus SAR637.8m in 2006, or SAR6.25/share.
Demand for cement is surging in Saudi Arabia, where the government is trying to tap a regional economic boom triggered by a near five-fold rise in oil prices since 2002.
Global Investment House said in November the Saudi cement sector would benefit in the medium term due to expectations of sustained revenue growth.
Published under Cement News
