Qatar National Cement records QR245mn gain
Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC) has reported 71% gains in net profit to QR244.94m during January-September this year on faster growth in sales and fresh income from associates.
The cement manufacturer’s earnings-per-share was QR6.86 as of September 30, 2007 compared with QR4 in the year-ago period.
QNCC yesterday gained 1.28% to QR126.40 on a volume of 30,879 shares in 53 transactions.
Gross operating income was up 93% to QR207.21m in the review period as sales grew faster than costs associated with it.
Sales rose 25% to QR807.19mn, while cost of sales grew slower at 11% to QR599.98m, thus leaving a gross operating income of QR807.19m.
Not only its other income rose 23% to QR73.37m, there was also a fresh QR10.59m income from associates. However, it did not specify about the associates.
The company incurred QR18.21m of finance cost and its general and administrative expenses were up 12% to QR22.03m in the first nine months of this year.
Its total assets were valued at QR2.04bn, comprising non-current assets of QR1.55bn and current assets of QR0.49bn.
Cement crisis ’is over’, Sabah, Malaysia
The cement shortage in Sabah which brought much of the construction industry to its knees in recent months is now over, according to Cement Industries (Sabah) Sdn Bhd (CIS).
It is confident there would be sufficient supply although demand for cement is expected to hit 1.12 million metric tonnes by the end of this year.
CIS General Manager, Robert Chung, said its grinding plant in Sepanggar would by then produce up to 800,000 metric tonnes of cement. "The balance of 300,000mt from the 1.12mt would be imported from Asean countries and also from Peninsular Malaysia.
"So, the public should not be unduly worried that they cannot get cement from the stores because there is sufficient cement in the market now," he said.
Speaking after meeting with the Sabah Builders Association (SBA) led by its President, Tsen Kui Lin, Wednesday, he said CIS has already arranged for cement shipments for the next three months.
According to him, when the shortage arose recently, the matter was immediately relayed to both the State and Federal governments.
However, the situation is back to normal and supply is assured with the exception of Tawau. He said in some areas such as Sandakan, there is oversupply but that most stores statewide have adequate supply.
"In Tawau, the shipment is a little delayed but by end of this month, everything should be okay," he said.
Tsen said the association is happy with the assurance given by CIS as the shortage had affected many builders due to change in financial planning and delays in work schedule.
But with the assurance, he said everyone could proceed with better work schedules. He said the SBA understood the situation the CIS faced during the shortage that was caused by shipping costs and shortage of clinker, among others.
"The shortage is also because other countries are also importing the cement material," he said. On other developments, Tsen said the CIS should inform the association if there are changes in the source of cement supply. He said although the quality of the cement is assured the amount of items such as water, sand and stones for mixing differ for each cement brand.
Published under Cement News
