Displaying items by tag: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Arabian Cement Company (ACC) has signed a US$96.5m contract with China's state-run CNBM, under which the Chinese firm will supply and install two cement mills at ACC's plant in Rabigh. The contract includes all engineering, construction and electrical and mechanical works. It will take 13 months to complete.

Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement (SPC) has launched trial operations of a third production line at its plant in Tuhama. The new line has 5000t/day of production capacity. The trial period will last about four months.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia's cement producers have again asked the government to lift a three-year-old ban on their exports so they can supply Egypt with 6Mt of cement, according to the chairman of Saudi Arabia's Cement Association.

"We are ready to export 6Mt of our cement surplus to Egypt following the signing of large contracts between that country and global companies this week," said Jihad Al-Rasheed, chairman of the national cement committee in the council of Saudi chambers of commerce and industry. Al-Rasheed said that it was time for Saudi authorities to lift the export ban after the emergence of 'golden' opportunities for the country's cement manufacturers to export their products to nearby Qatar, which needs large quantities of building materials for the planned stadia and other facilities for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. He added that other key markets that need Saudi cement include Kuwait, Bahrain, Sudan, Yemen and Ethiopia.

"Some Saudi cement plants were constructed in border areas with the aim of exporting their products to neighbouring countries, but the export ban has inflicted heavy losses on them and could force them to lay off workers," said Al-Rasheed. He added that cement companies in Saudi Arabia are trying to reduce a surplus of >20Mt by supplying domestic projects. "Most of the local government and private sector projects now have sufficient cement supplies. We want the Saudi government to lift the ban on cement exports in line with international trade rules," said Al-Rasheed.

Saudi Arabia partially lifted the cement export ban in 2009 before enforcing it again in 2012 to ensure enough supplies for domestic projects. According to Al-Rasheed, cement demand in Saudi Arabia stood at around 57.2Mt in 2014 and is projected to grow to nearly 59.5Mt in 2015.

Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement Company (YCC) has signed a contract to set up a 34MW waste heat recovery (WHR) system at its 8.5Mt/yr capacity cement plant near Yanbu with China's Sinoma Energy Conservation Ltd for US$61.8m.

The WHR system will be on stream by the end of 2016 and will be one of the largest of its kind at a cement plant in the world. It will be the largest in Saudi Arabia. Once operational, this WHR system will result in substantial savings in terms of fuel dependence for power generation from the diesel power station. Carbon emissions at the plant will be reduced by more than 100,000t/yr. About 25% of YCC's energy requirement will be met from the WHR system.

Saudi Arabia: Arabian Cement Company has signed an agreement with Saudi British Bank for US$107m of Islamic financing. The loan is to be repaid over a period of five years, including a one-year grace period. Arabian Cement said that it will use the loan to finance part of the first phase of an expansion project to install two new cement mills.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia's cement sales rose by 3% year-on-year to 57.2Mt in 2014 from 55.3Mt in 2013, according to statistics published by the Argaam news website.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, Saudi Arabia's cement sales reached 14.6Mt, compared to 12.7Mt in the same period of 2013 and 11.6Mt in the third quarter of 2014. In December 2014, cement sales rose by 17% year-on-year to 5.59Mt from 4.79Mt in December 2013. In December 2014, Saudi Cement Company sold 785,000t, followed by Southern Province Cement with 769,000t and Yanbu Cement with 623,000t.

Saudi Arabia: The combined net profit of the Saudi cement firms rose by 6% in 2014 to reach US$1.56bn compared with US$1.48bn recorded in 2013. The profit during the October - December quarter grew by 31% to US$383m compared with US$293m during the same period in the previous year.

The net profits of seven firms, out of 14 listed companies, grew. The profits of six companies dropped in 2014 and one company, Um Al-Qura, registered a net loss.
Arabian Cement Company (ACC) registered the biggest profit, with its profits reaching US$172m compared to US$51.0m in 2013, an increase of 236%. The company attributed the surge in profits to a growth in sales, which reached US$457m in 2014, compared with US$361.6m in 2013.

ACC was followed by Hail Cement Company (HCC), which was the second biggest booster for the sector. Its profits reached US$39.1m in 2014 compared to US$13.3m in 2013, increasing by 191%.

The profits of six companies dropped in 2014 and this negatively affected the sector's profit growth for the year. The profits of Yamama Cement Company (YCC) fell by 23%, followed by Saudi Cement Company (SCC), the profit of which fell by 8% year-on-year.

Saudi Arabia: Yamama Cement has reported that its net profit in 2014 has fallen by 23% year-on-year to US$179m from US$232m in 2013. The decrease was attributed to lower sales due to poor cement demand in 2014. Its operating profit fell by 21% to US$175m from US$221m.

Saudi Arabia: The boards of directors at the Arabian Cement Company has approved the appointment of Abdullah Mohammed al-Eissa as board chairman, with a three-year term starting from 1 January 2015.

In early December 2014, the company elected a new board of directors. The other newly-elected board members are Ghassan al-Souleiman, Saud al-Souleiman, Adel al-Zaid, Ibrahim al-Rajhi, Ibrahim Aba al-Khail, Sami Baroum, Mu'taz al-Azawi and Alwaleed al-Dareean

Saudi Arabia: The management board of Tabuk Cement Company has appointed Ali al-Asmari as director general, effective as of 1 January 2015. Al-Asmari, who joined Tabuk Cement in 1996, has held various positions within the company's management, including head of quarries, factory director and deputy director general.