Arabian Cement, a leading industrial group in the kingdom, has registered a net loss of SR50.9 million ($13.5 million) for the second quarter of 2018 mainly due to the poor performance of its Jordanian unit (Qatrana Cement).

Also with the tough competition in the western region market getting stronger, the Saudi cement firm saw its average realised price plunging to SR130/tonne (-17.6 per cent y-o-y,+5.7 per cent q-o-q), as the company tried to restrain selling prices from further decreases.

Its net profit decreased significantly to 5.5 per cent in Q2 2018 (Vs 8.4 per cent in Q2 2017).

According to experts, Arabian Cement’s loss was mainly due to its Jordanian operations (Qatrana Cement), which recorded a higher than estimated net loss of SR52.2 million in Q2 2018. The company held an inventory of 1.34 million tonnes by the end of June, representing 42.2 per cent of the last 12 months sales.

On the sales side, Arabian Cement sold 533,000 tonnes in Q2 2018 down 34 per cent y-o-y and 48.5 per cent q-o-q), they stated.

Going forward, the experts said the selling prices fluctuations could continue in the coming quarters.

"However, we expect that selling prices would stabilise in the following years given the mega construction projects in the western region and the company’s comparatively low inventory level," they added.-TradeArabia News Service