In Brief
01 August 2018
Cement firms ‘may see revenue drop’
Saudi Arabia’s cement sector is expected to witness a drop in revenue in the second quarter (Q2) of the year, according to a report released by Al Rajhi Capital, a leading financial services provider in the kingdom.
The companies covered by the report are expected to report a ~six per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in revenue, whereas earnings are likely to fall by ~10 per cent y-o-y, said Al Rajhi’s Q2 2018 earnings estimates report.
The cement sector’s sales volume declined 16.7 per cent y-o-y in the first two months of Q2, which Al Rajhi Capital believes is due to restructuring in the industry and the seasonality effect (summer, Ramadan month and Eid holidays).
In the first two months of Q2 2018, 15 cement companies have reported y-o-y decline in sales volume, led by Riyadh Cement (-44.1 per cent y-o-y) and Cement City (-37.5 per cent), while only two companies have reported an increase, namelyTabuk Cement (+82.4 per cent y-o-y) and Hail Cement (+28.7 per cent).
New CEO named for Neom city
Nadhmi Al Nasr, the interim president for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust), has been appointed the new CEO of Neom, a $500-billion mega city on the Red Sea coast.
The decision follows the appointment of Klaus Kleinfeld, the CEO of the project, as an adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reports said. Kleinfeld, who had been tasked with developing the Neom project in northern Saudi Arabia, will take over wider responsibilities to enhance the economic, technological and financial development of Saudi Arabia, said a report in Arab News.
Al Nasr, who has over 30 plus years of experience with Saudi Aramco and Kaust, had worked on developing the strategy and development of Neom Bay, the report said.
$453m road contracts awarded
Saudi Arabia has signed contracts worth SR1.73 billion ($453 million) for 23 new road projects across the kingdom, including seven in Makkah, six in Riyadh, four in Asir, two in the Eastern Province, and one each in Hail, Al Baha and Tabuk, said a report in Ashraq Al Awsat.
The ministry has signed a total of 75 projects so far costing SR2.7 billion ($720 million), the report added.
- $998m power plant starts operations
- Sika commissions new factory in Dammam
- $2bn heritage project launched
- PIF takes key stake in Acwa Power
- Saudi road contractor to expand Dynapac fleet
- Customised solutions with Assa Abloy tool
- McDermott seals contract for storage tanks
- Acciona to build SWCC desal plant
- KBR in deal for COTC complex
- Terex crane put to test on ‘back-breaking’ job
- In Brief
