Saudi cement exports grow by 7.4% in February
Saudi Arabia’s cement sector witnessed a slowdown in February and private players’ market share fell month-on-month for the first time since June 2009, according to a report issued by NCB Capital.
However, the bright spot was the rise in the kingdom’s cement exports by 7.4 per cent MoM, after three consecutive months of decline to 130,000t in February compared with 121,000t in January, it said.
Additionally, on a YoY basis, cement exports grew by 103.1 per cent from 64,000t. As of 21 March, the cement sector index was up 10.5 per cent year-to-date versus a 9.8 per cent increase on the Tadawul All Share Index (TASI).
But the month also saw a slowdown in y-o-y cement sales volume growth compared to January the same year. Clinker stock levels continued to fall, although as a percentage of monthly sales, there was a slight increase to 278 per cent, said the Saudi Arabia Cement Sector monthly report.
Cement and clinker sales volumes including exports for February stood at 3.62Mt, reporting an increase of 22.9 per cent YoY. However, volumes declined 5.2 per cent MoM compared with 3.81Mt in January. Production decreased 7.2 per cent MoM to 3.46Mt, resulting in a fall in cement stock. Additionally, clinker production declined for the second consecutive month to 2.85Mt, down 5.7 per cent on January.
Published under Cement News
