UAE-based RAK Ceramics, one of the largest ceramics brands in the world, said its core revenues for the third quarter surged by 14.1 per cent to Dh643.6 million ($175 million) compared to the previous year, mainly driven by strong growth in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and Bangladesh.

Announcing the results for the nine months ended September 30, RAK Ceramics said its total revenue grew to Dh705.2 million, up 9.2 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Core revenue contribution represented an all-time high of 92 per cent of total revenues as a result of the continued implementation on its Value Creation Plan. However, non-core revenue declined by 24 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) which is in line with the company’s strategy to divest non-core operations, said the company in a statement.

RAK Ceramics said its net profit grew to Dh84.7 million, which represents a strong increase of 365 per cent y-o-y and a net profit margin of 12 per cent. For the first nine months, the reported net profit surged to hit Dh262.3 million, posting an increase of 76 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Like for like net profit (excluding extraordinary net gain and provisions) grew to Dh87 million, an increase of 117 per cent y-o-y and 2.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q).

Despite a challenging macro and political landscape in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, revenues in the UAE continued to grow by 17.7 per cent y-o-y, led by strong demand and robust project sales across the company’s largest market.

Saudi Arabia continued its recovery trend with a strong performance in Q3 2017. Tiles and sanitary ware revenues increased by 50 per cent y-o-y at Dh65 million and q-o-q revenues remained stable.

Commenting on the performance, group CEO Abdallah Massaad said: "RAK Ceramics has made steady progress in 2017 and we continue to deliver on our Value Creation Plan initiatives by investing in core business growth, maintaining cost efficiencies, growing our market share in the UAE, restructuring our Indian operations and implementing our strategy to drive further profitability in Saudi Arabia."

"As a result of our strategy to exit non-core and non-performing businesses operations, we have lightened the balance sheet, increased margins and enhanced returns for our shareholders," he added.-TradeArabia News Service