The net profit of Saudi cement producer Yanbu Cement Co (YCC) dropped to SAR439m  (US$117m/€93.4m) for the first nine months of 2008 from SAR551m in the same period of 2007, equal to a decrease of 20 per cent, YCC managing director, Abdul Rouf Abu Zanada, said in a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange.

YCC attributed the decrease to lower sales due to planned maintenance activities.

The earnings per share (EPS) stood at SAR4.19 for January to September 2008, down from SAR5.24 a year ago.

The company reported an 18.5 per cent YoY decline in the operating profit to SAR 447m in the first nine months of 2008.

In the third quarter of 2008, YCC’s net profit dropped to SAR122m from SAR 179m in the corresponding period a year ago.

YCC (www.yanbucement.com), based in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, is one of the eight listed cement companies operating in the Kingdom. The company’s plant is located in Yanbu city on the west coast of Saudi Arabia with an annual production of 4.6Mt of cement and 3.8Mt of clinker, as at end-2007.

YCC will reach an annual production capacity of 7Mt and thus become the largest cement producer in western Saudi Arabia when its fifth production line starts operation in 2010.
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