Arab Cement Company was founded in 1955 and operates a cement factory in Rabigh, halfway between Jeddah and Yanbu industrial city. The company is 100 per cent privately owned. Arab Cement inaugurated an extension project at its plant in late 1996 which doubled the capacity of the plant to 2.

4 million tonnes a year (t/y) of clinker, or about 2.6 million t/y of cement, making it the fifth largest of the eight cement companies operating in the kingdom. The new line underwent modification work during 1997 and began operating at full capacity in 1998.

Arab Cement is the kingdom's sixth most valuable quoted cement company. Production at Arab Cement, as with other companies in the sector, is some way below capacity. Low domestic demand and limited penetration of foreign markets has, when coupled with the increase in productive capacity initiated during the construction boom of the early 1990s, hit Arab Cement hard.

Some analysts suggest that local cement surpluses are set to grow and, concomitantly, the price of cement is unlikely to stage a significant recovery They add that the current economic climate, dictated by persistently low oil prices, might encourage consolidation within the sector.

The performance of the company in the second half of the 1990s reflects the general pattern in the Saudi cement market. Sales income reached a peak of SR 188 million ($50 million) in 1996. They then fell by 12 per cent in 1997 and by a further 43 per cent in 1998 to SR 96.

1 million ($25.6 million). The result has been a sharp drop in profitability. Net income dropped by 48 per cent to SR 80 million ($21 million) in 1998. This led to a reduction in the dividend pay-out for the year.

Individuals	N/A
Institutions	N/A
Floating	N/A
Government	N/A

	2004	2003	2002
Total Assets	1,568,271	1,474,676	1,368,227
Shareholder's Equity	1,421,297	1,387,928	1,132,044
NIAT	306,376	210,581	187,585
Dividends	N/A	246,000	150,000

	2004	2003	2002
Assets Growth	6.35%	7.78%	1.75%
Earning Growth	45.49%	12.26%	39.30%
ROaA	20.14%	14.82%	13.83%
ROaE	21.81%	16.71%	16.95%
No. Of Shares	12,000,000	12,000,000	12,000,000
EPS	25.53	17.55	15.63
EPS Growth	45.49%	12.26%	39.30%
Payout Ratio	N/A	116.82	79.964

	Trailing
PE
PB
DVPS
Div Yield
EV
EV/Equity

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