The installation of a new cement mill at the Rusayl complex of Oman Cement Company will be completed by the fourth quarter of this year, said a senior official.

The infrastructure supporting the cement silos and bulk dispatches is currently under installation, informed chairman of the board Dr Abdullah Abbas Ahmed, according to a report by the Oman Daily Observer.

The plant will increase production by an additional 150 tonnes per hour following the completion of the new expansion, he stated.

In interim, unaudited financial results published yesterday, Oman Cement posted a net profit after tax of RO3.832 million ($9.95 million) for the quarter ended March 31, representing a  3.7 per cent increase over the net earnings of RO3.696 million ($9.6 million) for the corresponding quarter of 2014.

The company recorded a total sale of RO14.689 million ($38.15 million) during Q1 2015, compared to RO13.038 million ($33.86 million) for the corresponding period of 2014. In quantity terms, cement sales climbed to 591,558 metric tonnes during the quarter under review, up 13.4 per cent from 521,557 metric tonnes in sales achieved during Q1 2014.

Total cement production during this period was 586,950 metric tonnes, entailing an increase of 12.8 per cent over an output of 520,280 metric tonnes achieved during Q1 2014.