Saudi Arabia: Yanbu, All Jouf and Saudi Cement see fall in 3Q16 profits

More Saudi cement producers have reported a fall in profits for the third quarter of 2016. The decline in profits were attributed to lower sales and a drop in average selling prices as competition intensified amid weaker demand. Higher oil prices have also been cited as a major factor in the decrease.

Yanbu Cement company recorded a 35.9 per cent drop in profits during the period from SAR145m (US$38.7m) in 3Q15 to SAR93m (US$24.8m), according to a bourse filing. Profits also fell QoQ, by 41.5 per cent. In the first nine months of the year, Yanbu saw its net profit fall by 27 per cent to SAR436m from SAR597m in Jan-Sep 2015.

Al Jouf Cement’s profits fell 20 per cent short of the previous year’s third-quarter figure and stood at SAR14.9m (SAR18.6m in 3Q15). For the first nine months of the year, net profit dropped from SAR71.19m to SAR62.36m, a 12.4 per cent decrease.

Saudi Cement Co reported a 3.9 per cent decrease in profits for 3Q16 at SAR200m when compared with 3Q15 when profits reached SAR208m. Total sales fell 5.8 per cent from SAR398m to SAR375m. In the first nine months of 2016, profits slipped 6.4 per cent to SAR715 from SAR764m in the year-ago period.