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Cement sales up across ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵÌýas mega construction projects kick inÌý

Cement sales up across ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵÌýas mega construction projects kick inÌý
Cement companiesÌýhave faced a mixed pictureÌýin the Kingdom so far in 2022.Ìý(Shutterstock)
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Updated 03 November 2022

Cement sales up across ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵÌýas mega construction projects kick inÌý

Cement sales up across ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵÌýas mega construction projects kick inÌý

RIYADH: ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s local cement sales hit 1.45 millionÌýtons during the third quarter of 2022, up from 1.43 million tons in the corresponding period a year earlier, according toÌýSouthern Province Cement Co.’s CEO AqeelÌýKadasah.Ìý

The financial results inÌýthe three months to OctoberÌýindicate the cement sector’s recovery in the Kingdom Kadasah said.Ìý

Given the pipeline of projects in the country, local demand is set to increase,Ìýthus improving cement’s selling price, he revealed.Ìý

Profits of Southern Province Cement Co. dropped by 28 percent in the first nine months of 2022 to SR238 million ($63.3 million), down from SR331 million during the same period a year ago.Ìý

This was coupled with a 12 percent decrease in revenue in the period ending Sept. 30, reaching SR887 million.ÌýÌý

The company attributed the lower profits to lower sales revenues due to the lower demand, lower selling prices, and higher production requirements prices.Ìý

TheÌýresults are in keepingÌýwith theÌýmixed pictureÌýcement companiesÌýhave facedÌýin the Kingdom so far in 2022.Ìý

Local Tabuk Cement revealed in a bourse filing that its profits declined 81 percent between January and September of 2022, falling to SR3.4 million.ÌýÌý

Despite lower profit, the cement producer Tabuk’s first-nine months revenues increased by 21 percent to SR210 million.Ìý

Arabian Cement Co.Ìýreported a 6 percent profit increase for the first nine months of 2022 despite sales dropping 6 percent.ÌýThe cement producer’s profits increased to SR146 million, up from SR138 million in the same period last year, according to a bourse filing,Ìý

During the third quarter of 2022, Arabian Cement posted 57 percent growth in its profits to SR59 million supported by an 8 percent increase in revenue to SR241 million.Ìý

Despite upheaval faced by the sector, its market value stands at SR50 billion, and it continues to contribute significantly to the Kingdom's economic development and Vision 2030 goals the head of the National Cement Committee BadrÌýJohar said, according toÌýArgaam.ÌýÌý

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is working to ensure the sector’s consistency by intensifying efforts in response to the many shifts occurring in the sector, Khalid Al-Mudaifer, vice minister for mining affairs at the ministry said after a meeting with Johar.Ìý

A surge in construction activities due to The Red Sea Development Co., AMAALA and other development projects in ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ such as NEOM andÌýQiddiyaÌýis expected to drive the recovery of the cement industry after the demand dwindled last year and early this year on account of the pandemic.Ìý

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