GCC cement sector suffers over 1H of this year

The cement industry in the GCC countries suffered over 1H 2010 as a result of many major projects in the real estate industry cancelled due to the global recession.

Cement producers in the GCC reported a 13.8% decrease in top line revenues and recorded a 12.4% drop in profits over 1H of this year. Net profits decreased from US$ 938.8 million to US$ 822.1 million y-o-y; meanwhile, debt decreased 8.1% to US$ 2.2 billion, and liabilities decreased 2.8% to US$3.3 billion; this has been attributed to companies focusing more on reducing their debts and improving the quality of their assets.

Kuwait registered a growth margin of 33.2% (from 25% in 2009), while Qatar’s figure stood at 41.6% (22.7% in 2009).

WORLD CEMENT’s November issue will include a more thorough overview of the GCC cement sector.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/africa-middle-east/07092010/gcc_cement_sector_suffers_over_1h_of_this_year/