Oman: Raysut Cement has reported that its profit before tax rose by 62% to US$49.4m for the first nine months of 2012. This compares to US$30.7m for the same period in 2011. Oman's biggest cement producer has attributed the increase to higher sales volumes of cement and better price 'realisation'.
Raysut Cement's revenue for the first nine months of 2012 rose by 12% to US$183m, compared to US$163m in 2011. The group's subsidiary Pioneer Cement reported a profit of US$9.79m in 2012 compared to US$3.87m in 2011.
The group produced 2.83Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2012, an increase of 21% year-on-year compared to 2.33Mt in 2011. It produced 2.63Mt of clinker, an increase of 4% year-on-year compared to 2.53Mt in 2011. The group sold 2.84Mt of cement during the first nine months of 2012, compared to 2.40Mt in 2011.
In its forecast Raysut predicted that the construction industry in Oman would grow to US$5bn by 2016 at an average rate of 6%. It supported this assertion with the news that a number of formerly suspended programmes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been reinstated. Yet the group added that cement supplies in Oman remain under 'significant' pressure from imports from UAE. It is estimated that UAE has an overcapacity of cement of around 65%. Raysut also expects that demand in Yemen and east Africa will aid the company.
