Displaying items by tag: Yanbu
Update on Saudi Arabia
06 November 2013Demand for cement is so intense in Saudi Arabia that certain producers have reported production line shutdowns in dedicated stock market statements. Notably, industry newcomer Hail Cement reported a scheduled shutdown for late October/early November 2013, Al Jouf Cement reported unscheduled shutdowns in October and June 2013 and Najran Cement reported scheduled maintenance in July 2013. Even a short delay to cement production is a newsworthy event for both investors and analysts.
Saudi cement producers have risen to the infrastructure challenges of the country's Ninth Development Plan, increasing cement production by 6% year-on-year to 42.7Mt for the first nine months of 2013. In this febrile environment, the king ordered 10Mt of cement imports in April 2013 followed by government demands for producers to build up a two-month 'strategic' inventory reserve. Unsurprisingly, as we report this week, exports of cement from Saudi Arabia have fallen by 55% for the first nine months of 2013.
At the time of Global Cement's feature on Saudi Arabia in December 2012 only two of the country's cement producers had an inventory of joint clinker and cement stock meeting the government's stockpiling request. For the first nine months of 2013 the situation remains the same although the overall inventory has increased by 18% year-on-year to 10.3Mt. This compares to the end of 2012 where inventories fell year-on-year by 14% to 7Mt.
Unsurprisingly again, the Kingdom's major cement producers have seen balance sheets bulge so far in 2013. Yamama Cement reported a 12% year-on-year rise in net profit to US$145m for the first half of 2013 on the back of local demand. Saudi Cement Company reported a 5% year-on-year rise in its net profits to US$173m and Southern Province Cement saw a 4% year-on-year rise in its net profits to US$150m for the same period. Yanbu Cement saw its net profit rise by 29% year-on-year to US$176m for the first nine months of 2013.
With more large government infrastructure contracts pending, analysts expect the Saudi cement market to remain heated. Although as NCB Capital pointed out in September 2013, uncertainties over fuel supplies for coming cement plant expansions provide uncertainty to the situation. Nobody wants a repeat of the Yanbu - Aramco spat over fuel supplies that occurred in 2011. Irony would barely describe the situation if a Saudi Arabian cement boom was dented by a lack of fuel in one of the countries with the biggest oil reserves in the world.
Global Cement will be at stand T9 at the 18th Arab-International Cement Conference and Exhibition in Jordan from 11 – 13 November 2013
Results from Saudi Arabia
18 July 2013Saudi Arabia: Saudi Cement Company has reported a 5.9% year-on-year increase in its second-quarter net profit. It identified a rise in local demand for cement as among the reasons for the improvement.The company posted a second-quarter net profit of US$81.7m compared to US$77.3m in the same period in 2012. Net profit for the first six months of 2013 was US$172.5m, a 5% rise compared to the first half of 2012.
Meanwhile, Yanbu Cement Co's first-half net profit rose by 44.7% year-on-year to US$138.9m, thanks to higher production and sales volumes supported by the start of its kiln line No 5 in 2012.
Saudi ports ready for more cement imports
22 May 2013Saudi Arabia: Commercial ports in Saudi Arabia are ready to process more cement and clinker, according to a Ports Authority (PA) spokesman quoted by Arab News. The move supports a command issued by the King of the country in April 2013 that ordered 10Mt of cement to cope with local shortage.
The PA has set up 17 docking stations for handling and storage of cement and clinker. Jeddah, Dammam and Jubail have four stations each. Yanbu, Dhuba and Jazan are equipped with one site each. The authority has agreed with Saudi Arabia-based Southern Province Cement Company to import cement and clinker through the Jazan Port, as well as with Yanbu Cement Company for clinker imports. All the ports are required to support the cement companies in providing enough space for storage and loading.
Saudi Arabia first quarter roundup
17 April 2013Saudi Arabia: Yamama Cement has reported that its net profit remained stable year-on-year for the first three months of 2013 at US$73.9m. However its net profit rose by 59% from US$46.4m in the fourth quarter of 2012. The company attributed the increase in net profit from the fourth quarter to an increase in domestic demand.
The Arabian Cement Company reported a net income of US$42m for the first three months of 2013, a rise of 7.7% from US$39m year-on-year. Net income doubled from US$21m for the fourth quarter of 2012. Gross profit fell year-on-year by 3.6% to US$44.9m from US$46.5m. The company attributed the year-on-year rise in net income to a decrease in operating expenses and the increase in other income. The decrease in gross profit was attributed to a decrease in sales revenue.
Yanbu Cement Company reported that its net profit rose by 70% to US$65.9m in the first quarter of 2013 compared to US$38.4m in the same quarter in 2012. Net profit rose by 21.4% from US$54.1m in the fourth quarter of 2012. Yanbu's gross and operating profits rose accordingly. The company attributed the rises in profits to increased sales and as a result of the start of 'Line 5 commercial production from April 2012 and Opex efficiencies.'
Saudi producers report profit growth in 2012
08 January 2013Saudi Arabia: Two of Saudi Arabia's largest cement producers, Yamama and Yanbu, have reported a growth in their profits in 2012.
Yanbu Cement announced a net profit of US$192m for 2012, an increase of 36.1% compared to 2011. The company said that such a performance had been made possible as a result of improved sales and the opening of a fifth production line part way through the year. The company also saw a 32.7% year-on-year increase in its fourth quarter sales to US$54.1m.
Yamama Cement revealed that its full-year net profits for 2012 increased by 11% to US$218m. However in the fourth quarter of the year its profits fell by 9% year-on-year to US$46.4m. The company blamed the lower sale prices achieved during the fourth quarter before the decline was reached.
A recent report by the National Commercial Bank (NCB) said that demand for cement in Saudi Arabia remains strong, with ongoing projects set to sustain growth for several years to come. It forecasted growth in market demand with a rate of 8.2% predicted in 2013 as demand reaches 56Mt. In the longer term NCB predictions expect continued demand growth of 6.3%/yr until 2015.
Yanbu is likely to benefit from any significant growth in demand, as it has three lines with a combined capacity of 1.3Mt/yr currently sitting idle. Predictions that this growth in demand will be disproportionately stronger in the western region could well yield another successful year to come in 2013.
Yanbu second quarter profit increases
11 July 2012Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement has posted a net profit of US$57.6m for the second quarter of 2012 compared to US$40m for the same period of 2011. This represents a increase of 44% over the US$38.7m made in the previous quarter. The company made a gross profit of US$62.7m in the second quarter, a 48% increase year-on-year.
Over the course of the first half Yanbu's net profit went from US$66.2m in 2011 to US$96m in 2012. Its gross profit for the six months was US$104.8m compared to US$71.7m in 2011, an increase of 46%.
Yanbu said that the the reason for increase in its net profit was an increase in both production and sales, helped by a new cement line and an increase in cement demand.
Saudi firms see strong start to 2012
11 April 2012Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement has announced that its first-quarter net profit for 2012 rose by 43% year-on-year to US$38.6m. Earnings per share for the first three months of the year rose to US$0.37 from US$0.26 in the year earlier period. It added that its first-quarter operating profit surged by 44% to US$39.9m.
Meanwhile Yamama Saudi Cement has said that its first quarter profit surged by 54% compared to the first quarter of 2011 to US$74.1m due to higher sales and better operational efficiency. Its first-quarter earnings per share came in at US$0.37 compared to US$0.35 in 2011, according to a statement. Its operating profit for the three-month period rose to US$76.5m, compared to US$49.1m in the same period of 2011, a year-on-year rise of 55%.
Profits up in Saudi Arabia
31 January 2012Saudi Arabia: Cement producers in Saudi Arabia have announced improved profits for 2011 and the fourth quarter of 2011. Companies have cited increased demand for cement and higher selling prices as reasons for their improved profits.
Yanbu Cement Company posted a net profit of US$40.9m for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to US$26.6m for the same quarter of 2010, an increase of 54%. The company posted a profit of US$33.3m for the previous quarter. The company's net profit for the whole of 2011 was US$141.2m compared to US$114.8m in 2010, an increase of 23%. The 12 month gross profit was US$148.1m, up by nearly 20% compared to 2010. Yanbu's operational profit over the same period was US$139.8m, a year-on-year increase of 19.5%.
Meanwhile, Saudi Cement Company has announced that its net profit jumped by nearly 40% in the fourth quarter of 2011, rising to US$56.6m. The company said that the increase from a net profit of US$40.5m in the same period of 2010 was due to higher production and demand. It should also be noted that the company has added new production lines in the past year, which boosted the company's output and profit.
Eastern Province Cement Company (EPCC) also reported strong results, with a net profit for 2011 of US$97m, compared to US$91.5m for the same period of 2010. This is an increase of 6%. In the fourth quarter of 2011 the company's net profit was up to US$28.7m compared to US$22.1m for the same quarter of 2010, an increase of 28%. The net profit was up by 41% compared to the quarter ending 30 September 2011.