Saudi Eastern Cement cuts output amid export ban

Saudi Eastern Cement cuts output amid export ban
14 April 2009


Saudi-based Eastern Province Cement Co said on Saturday it has decided to shut a production line for four months after a government decision to ban exports inflated stockpiles, reports Reuters.

The line, which produces 3,500tpd, will be shut for a "lengthy maintenance", the firm said in a statement posted on the bourse website.

All Saudi cement firms that have announced first-quarter earnings, including Eastern Province Cement, showed a fall in net profit from a year earlier, which they blamed mainly on growing stockpiles due in part to the exports ban imposed in June.

But all of the six firms showed improvement both in sales and profitability compared with the fourth-quarter of 2008, when uncertainties over the prospects of the global economy reached a peak.
Published under Cement News