Raysut Cement proposes RO15m rights

Raysut Cement, Oman has proposed to come out with a rights issue of five million shares at a price of RO3.000 per share aggregating to RO15 million.  The rights offer is to part-finance the company’s RO20 million expansion-project, which the company had embarked up on sometime ago.  Official sources said the company is in the process of expanding its production capacity by another 1.2Mt. Through the rights issue, the paid-up capital of the company will be increased to RO20 million from the current RO15 million.  The proposals are subject to the approvals of shareholders and the Capital Market Authority.

Civil works for the projects have already been commenced, and the first consignment of machinery is expected to arrive by January 2005.  As of September-end 2004, the money deployed on the expansion project from the company’s internal cash sources stood at RO3.2 million, representing 16 per cent of the project cost. Established in 1981, Raysut Cement’s principal activity is manufacturing and marketing of Port Land cement, sulphur resistant cement, oil well class ‘G’ cement and Pozzolana well cement.

The company had reported 58 per cent jump in net profit for the first nine months of the current year at RO5.45 million as against RO3.45 million recorded for the corresponding period of the preceding year. Shareholders’ funds stood 21 per cent higher at RO30.47 million.

Total assets as of September-end 2004 stood 7.2 per cent higher at RO46.73 million compared with RO43.6 million. Total revenues for the nine-month period were 14 per cent higher at RO15.33 million as against RO13.48 million recorded for the corresponding period of the previous year.  Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank holds over 11 per cent stake in the company. Abu Dhabi Fund, Dolphin International and Sindbad International Trading own 10 per cent stakes each in the company’s capital. The company after posting losses in 2001 and 2002 was back in black in 2003 by recording a net profit of RO4.9 million.