Displaying items by tag: Kuwait

Iran: Cement exports grew by 4.6% year-on-year to 3.6Mt in the first quarter of the local financial year to 21 June 2018. It exported cement to 27 countries to including Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, according to the Trend News Agency. The country produced 54.7Mt in the previous reporting year, a decline of 1.5% year-on-year. The local cement industry has faced problems, including a recession in the construction sector, poor gas supplies and obstacles to its export markets.

Kuwait: Siwertell, part of Cargotec, has signed a contract with Acico Construction for its third road-mobile cement unloader. Similar to its last delivery in 2015, the road-mobile unloader will be a trailer-based, diesel-powered Siwertell 10 000 S unit. It will be fitted with dust filters and a double bellows system and like its predecessor will have a rated capacity of 300t/hr. Acico also operates a Siwertell 5 000 S unit, which was delivered in 2014.

The new unit will be built at Siwertell's premises in Bjuv, Sweden and delivered by the end of the first quarter of 2017. It will operate in Kuwait's second largest port, Shuaiba, located south of Kuwait City.

Acico Construction, part of Acico Industries Company, was founded in 1990 and has experienced sustained and steady growth. Its third Siwertell unit has been ordered so that the company can focus its operations on the increasing number of larger vessels, up to 10,000t, that it now handles. It also uses a two-year Siwertell Care maintenance support contract, signed in 2015, to cover Acico's first two road-mobile units. The agreement includes an ongoing training element for Acico maintenance staff, covering mechanical and electrical systems and instrumentation.

Kuwait: Kuwait Portland Cement Company earned US$17.2m in the first half of 2015, an 11% drop compared to the US$19.4m that it earned in the first half of 2014.

Kuwait: ACICO Cement has launched new production lines for interlock tiles and white cement in response to the increasing local market demand.

ACICO Cement's CEO Ahmad Al-Khaled announced that the step came within the strategic plan that aims to place ACICO in the leading position among various construction materials manufacturers. "The new production lines came in response to the great need for these products in the local market, for both public and private projects," said Al-Khaled.

Al-Khaled said that white cement now accounts for 25% of the company's total production. "There is a demand from the government and private sides, especially from the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Housing," said Al-Khaled. "Despite the rise in diesel prices, which affected our transport costs by 60 – 70%, ACICO did not raise the prices of its products. We expect the government to continue subsidies on diesel," said Al-Khaled.

Kuwait: Hilal Cement Company has appointed Muhammad Muhtashem Khan as a board member, effective 10 April 2014. He replaces Yan Mahdi Baqi.

Kuwait: Several sets of financial results for Kuwaiti cement companies have been released for the year to 31 December 2011.

Hilal Cement has reported that its total revenue increased by 5.8% to US$71.1m and its net profit grew by 70.5% to US$4.4m.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Portland Cement saw its total revenue drop to US$174.4m, a drop of 18.4%, with its net profit slumping by 88.6% to US$9.1m.

Kuwait Cement recorded a fifth consecutive year of positive earnings, a 20.8% increase in total revenue to US$215.9m, and a 6.8% improvement in net profit to US$51.2m.

UAE: The Kuwait-based paper manufacturer Shuaiba Industrial Company has announced the completion of its 100%-owned cement bag plant in Jebel Ali in the UAE. The facility, which has a total cost of US$13.1m will have an annual production capacity of 80 million cement bags. The company used its own funds to finance the plant.

Kuwait: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) cement companies have emerged from two years of decline following the credit crisis with a strong 14.2% increase in revenue, according to a report by Global Investment House. Sector profits, however, increased by 2.7% in 2011. Revenues reached US$4.6bn in 2011 compared to US$4bn in 2010. Net profits increased from US$1.44bn in 2010 to US$1.48bn in 2011.

By country, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait overturned declining revenues in 2010 and all four countries reported increasing sales for 2011 except Qatar. UAE, which witnessed declining sales revenue since 2008, enjoyed a 5.9% increase in sales to reach US$940m. Yet net profit was negative for the first time since the researchers started to compile UAE cement data.

Oman witnessed a 12.8% increase in sales revenue reaching US$342.3m in 2011, the second highest revenue in Oman's cement history. However Oman reported a 39.4% decrease in profits in 2011. Kuwait reported a 5.4% increase in revenue reaching US$66.9m in 2011, but it posted a 47.1% decrease in net profits compared to 2010. Qatar was the only GCC country reporting declining sales and profits. Saudi Arabia posted a healthy 22.6% increase in sales revenue and a 25.2% increase in net profits in 2011.

According to Saudi government officials, Saudi Arabia will spend an estimated US$400bn on large infrastructure projects from 2012 until 2017. Ever since the country banked upon diversification, the cement sector witnessed a tremendous pick up in demand from less than 20Mt in 2005 to 49Mt in 2011. In the wake of increasing demand locally, the government imposed a conditional ban on cement exports in 2010 that further pushed demand. Saudi Arabia lifted a ban on cement imports in March 2012 and neighbouring exporter nations, Oman and the UAE, are expected to benefit greatly from the change.