Displaying items by tag: Oman Cement
Oman Cement to award new mill contract to FLSmidth
03 October 2013Oman: Oman Cement has disclosed that it intends to award the contract for supply and installation of a new 150t/hr cement mill to FLSmidth. FLSmidth separately confirmed that a letter of intent had been signed by Oman Cement, although final negotiations remain to be completed. No price for the contract has been released.
Other announcements from the Oman-based cement producer include an upgrade of kiln 1 to increase production and improve pollution control. Oman cement also plans similar pollution control improvements to kiln 2 with the aid of a consultant.
Mill breakdown at Oman Cement
12 June 2013Oman: One of the cement grinding mills at Oman Cement Company (OCC), which has a production capacity of 150t/hr, has developed a major technical problem and has been shut down for repairs. An inspection by the technical expert from the manufacturer has indicated that the spare parts required to carry out the repairs will be available in about 14 weeks' time. The company also highlighted that it was investigating alternative ways to repair the mill locally.
The effect of the failure is that 0.36Mt less cement will be produced between June 2013 and September 2013, if the manufacturer's repair time estimate holds.
Oman Cement admits probe on cement quality
29 May 2013Oman: On 23 May 2012 Oman Cement Company (OCC) said that the Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) has initiated an investigation on the quality of cement imported by the company. A team from PACP visited the company to inspect the cement imported and locally purchased for blending with its own cement, which the team considered to be a violation.
However, the company assured the team that the cement purchased after tender process is manufactured by reputable local and foreign cement companies according to the specifications better than the British-European and Omani standards and conform to high quality standard followed by OCC.
The clarification was in response to a newspaper report on deceptive commercial practices carried out by a company in importing 30,000t of 'inferior' quality cement, which was allegedly re-packed and sold as high quality product at a high price.
OCC also assured the authority that the cement purchased has been subjected to laboratory test and harmonising it with OCC-manufactured cement is undertaken with adherence to high quality standards.
"The purchase of cement, which amounts to about 30,000t and is hardly 1% of the annual capacity of the firm, had been necessitated due to breakdown of one of the cement mills of the company in April 2013," added OCC in a statement.
In a separate statement Raysut Cement sought to distance itself from the communication between OCC and the PACP.
Oman Cement first quarter sales up 35%
03 May 2013Oman: Oman Cement Co has reported a 35% rise in its net profit for the first quarter of 2013 on the back of improved sales volumes. Its net profit rose to US$17.9m from US$13.3m in the same period of 2012.
The company reported sales of 628,553t of cement during the first quarter of 2013, 12.5% higher compared to the 558,495t sold in the same period of 2012. In value terms, sales for the three-month period rose by 12% to US$40.7m from US$35.6m in the same period of 2012.
Company chairman Dr Abdullah Abbas Ahmed said, "We have continued to successfully improve our sales and profit with a balanced approach of marketing efforts, a competitive price structure and discount scheme backed by the quality of our products and adopting effective expenditure control measures."
"As demonstrated by increased sales volume during the first quarter, the company is confident of the demand for cement in the country. With the company's well-structured pricing policy, we hope that in spite of stiff competition with other cement manufacturers, particularly from neighbouring countries, the company will continue to do well in retaining its market share," added Ahmed.
Oman Cement Co is in the process of increasing its cement-grinding capacity by installing a new 150t/hr cement mill. The company is also planning to improve its pollution control equipment on one of its kilns to decrease dust-emission levels. The process of identifying a suitable consultant for this task is in progress.
Improving picture for Oman Cement as UAE imports slacken
24 January 2013Oman: Oman Cement Co has recorded a 36.7% rise in its net profit from US$33.2m in 2011 to US$45.5m in 2012. It reported that its total revenue rose by 17% to US$154m in 2012 from US$131.7m in 2011. However, total expenditure also rose in 2012 by 9.4% to US$102.8m from US$94m in 2011.
It is expected that Oman will see good demand for cement in 2013 due to government spending on infrastructure projects and increased construction activity. Analysts expect no increase in imports. Cement producers in the sultanate have faced tough competition over the last few years from UAE suppliers who sell cement in large quantities at lower prices in Oman.
Sameer Kattiparambil of EFG-Hermes, said, "The growth in net profit is mostly volume driven with some recovery in local cement prices. Owing to the fact that no major extra cement is being imported, prices have stabilised in the market over the last quarters."
"Since export prices have gone up, there has not been much addition to the profits of UAE exporters. Imports will continue to a limited extent but there will be no major increase. Oman Cement is working up to 96% of its capacity, so in the future, there is not much room for volume-driven growth," Kattiparambil added.
New Oman plant could bring end to dumping
14 November 2012Oman: Plans to build a cement plant in Oman's northern city of Al Duqm are progressing, with the promoters starting to identify limestone mines in the area. The project, which will have a production capacity of 3-4Mt/yr, is aimed at enhancing the availability of cement in the country to meet additional demand arising from major government-supported infrastructure projects and other construction activities.
Sources said that the Duqm cement project will be promoted by a well established 100% Omani firm, which will carry out exports through Duqm port. "It is going to be a very big project. The cement plant will be set up in coordination with the port," said a source.
Presently, the two cement producers in the country, Raysut Cement and Oman Cement, have a combined capacity of 4.7Mt/yr. However, if the capacity of Raysut's Ras Al Khaimah, UAE-based Pioneer Cement Industries is included, the total installed capacity is much higher at 6.4Mt/yr. An important advantage for the proposed cement plant is the rich deposits of limestone in the region.
In a recent forecast Raysut predicted that the construction industry in Oman would grow to US$5bn by 2016 at an average rate of 6%/yr. It supported this assertion with the news that a number of formerly suspended programmes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been reinstated. However, 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.
Oman Cement to increase grinding capacity and pollution control
25 October 2012Oman: Oman Cement is in the process of increasing its cement grinding capacity by installing an additional 15t/hr cement mill. The tender process has been initiated for building the plant, according to the company's chairman Dr Abdullah Abbas Ahmed.
Oman Cement is also planning to improve the pollution control equipment on its line 2 to control dust emission levels. It is in the process of identifying a consultant for this project.
Meanwhile, the company said that its net profit increased by 32.5% to US$30.4m for the first nine months of 2012, from US$25.2m for the same period of 2011. Its sales revenue also increased, to US$108.5m, compared to US$94.2m during the period.
The company has achieved sales of 1.69Mt for the first nine months of 2012 compared to 1.40Mt for the same period of 2011.
Oman: Cement sector players in Oman are scaling up their production capacity to meet the ever-rising local demand and also from export markets such as Yemen and various East African nations. Until recently, the Omani cement manufacturers were ‘victims’ of a cheap influx of cement from the UAE.
In 2011, imports met 25% of cement demand in Oman, mainly from the UAE where the weak construction sector had resulted in a excess of cement. Now with rising operational costs, producers in the UAE are no longer in a position to offer cement at lower prices, boosting the prospects of Omani producers.
In the first quarter of 2012 Oman Cement has seen its cement sales increase by 13.8% on a year-on-year basis, driven by lower prices and an increase in domestic construction activity.
Meanwhile, Raysut Cement group's net profit before tax soared by 37% to US$17.7m in the first three months of 2012, from US$12.9m in the same period of 2011. The profit before tax of Raysut Cement Company (RCC) soared by 26% to US$14.5m, from US$11.6m during the same periods. The group as a whole sold 0.06Mt of clinker and 1Mt of cement during the quarter that ended on 31 March 2012 against 0.03Mt and 0.83Mt respectively in the same period of 2011.
Raysut attributed its increase in profit to higher sales volume and better price realisation in spite of competition, both in the domestic and in the export markets. Construction activity in Oman is expected to continue its upswing during the current year.
Oman Cement Co secures USD68m loan for upgrades
20 October 2011Oman: BankMuscat has signed an agreement with Oman Cement Company (OCC) for term loans totalling USD68m to refinance and modernise OCC plants.
The loan will be invested in funding the project for upgrading the OCC furnace efficiency and improving equipment of combating pollution, in addition to benefiting from the loan in the recovery of another funding loan.
Jamal bin Shamis al-Hooti, CEO of OCC said that the agreement would help the OCC factory to meet requirements of the Omani market.
Oman Cement upgrades with USD67m loans
28 September 2011Oman: Oman Cement Company has obtained two loans totalling more than USD67m from BankMuscat to finance a series of upcoming modernisation projects.
The first loan of USD38m will be used to finance its kiln upgrade project and pollution control equipment improvements. The company announced in March 2011 that this would be carried out by two Chinese companies. The second loan of USD30m will pay off an existing loan of the same amount the company currently has with Bank Sohar. A statement released to the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) explains that these loans would 'hopefully reduce the cost of financing its projects.'
Outlining the reasons behind the loans the company's chief financial officer, Deepak Dikshit, stated that the loan to pay off the Bank Sohar loan will be paid back in semi-annual instalments over five years. Dikshit said that the loan for the modernisation works has a two-year moratorium and is also payable in semi-annual instalments over a period of 'effectively seven years.'
Anticipating completion by February 2012, the company will be employing CNBM International Engineering to carry out a USD30m contract to modernise the 29 year old plant, extending its life by another 25 years and increasing its capacity from 2000t/day to 2700t/day.
Oman Cement Company also signed a USD8.5m deal with Sino Environment Engineering Company to modernise the company's pollution control systems to ensure that emissions fall below 10mg/nm3, with work expected to be completed by the end of January 2012.
Indian firm ERCOM Consulting Engineers has been appointed the consultants to the projects.