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Operational profits up at QIMC
Qatar Industrial Manufacturing (QIMC) has reported net profits of QR80.9m for the first half of 2009. Operational profits rose 25% compared to the corresponding period last year. QIMC additionally said it plans to launch QR373m worth of projects during the current year. CEO Abdul Rahman bin Abdulla Al Ansari said the company is reviewing the economic viability of some projects, but added that its aluminium plant, which is due to begin operations in the third quarter of 2010, is expected to have a positive impact on QIMC's performance. Currently, QIMC has 15 industrial projects worth QR600m.
RWI inks Qatar rubber deals
Rubber World Industries (RWI), manufacturer of closed-cell rubber insulation 'Gulf-O-flex', has signed several deals with Qatar-based contractors totalling QR1.1m. Under the agreements, RWI will deliver more than 2,345 cubic metres of its high quality rubber insulation products, including 'Gulf-O-Flex' tubes, sheet rolls and rubber foam tape. The list of contractors includes Jaid Trading & Contracting, Penta Trading Group LLC, Rashid Al Mulla Sanitary & Building Materials Company, Rodha Khalid Co., ZEEBY, Qatar Universal, Air Conditioning Technology, Equipment Trading & Contracting Co. and LAFFAN.
'Dumping' affecting UAE steel prices
Ajay Aggarwal, CEO of RAK Steel, a major steel manufacturing mill in Ras Al Khaimah, has said that dumping from Turkish steel manufacturers is hurting the country's local steel prices, Reuters has reported. Prices in the UAE of rebar steel, which is mainly used for construction, are at around $500 per ton compared to $1,500 last year, he has said. UAE authorities imposed a 5% custom duties fee on the metal in February, but many of these companies find ways to escape the custom charges by importing small amounts of steel at a time, Aggarwal has said. 'Dumping is slowing down the recovery of the sector and our profitability,' he has added.
Arkan's Q2 profit drops 78%
UAE-based Arkan Building Materials Co has said its Q2 profit had plunged 78% to Dhs24.38m ($6.64m) as the company sold less cement, Reuters has reported. Arkan made a loss of Dhs77.1m for the first six months of the year, compared with a profit of Dhs128.14m in the same period of 2008, it said.
Dubai Q2 sales climb 5%
Dubai Aluminium Co (Dubal) has reported that its sales rose 5% in the second quarter to 275,055 metric tons, compared to 261,972 metric tons in the same period last year, due to continued strong demand in Asia and the Middle East. Inventory levels during the second quarter this year were at the 'lowest ever' level, Dubal said in a statement.
Saudi Cable buys majority stake in Turkish firm
Saudi Cable, a power and telecom network equipment maker, has agreed to buy a 79% stake in Turkish electronic equipments maker Elimsan for SR123.75m ($33m), Reuters has reported. Two unidentified banks will finance about 91% of the deal's cost over a five-year period, while the remainder will be funded from Saudi Cable's own cash, the company said.
QNCC H1 profit climbs 38%
The Qatar National Cement Co (QNCC) has reported a 38% rise in net profits in the first half of this year over the corresponding period in 2008. Total revenue from sales was QR871m, up 23% over the corresponding period last year, the company said. Sales had reached 19,000 tons a day, compared to 14,000 tons in the same period last year, while sales of washed sand grew to 27,000 tons per day, compared to 21,000 tons in the corresponding period in 2008.
Jordan Phosphate Mines H1 profit dips
Jordan Phosphate Mines Co has reported JD67.2m net profit in the first half of this year compared to JD75.2m during the same period of last year. Total assets had reached JD556.8m, while its shareholders equity amounted to JD446.8m, compared to JD417.1m at the end of 2008, the firm said.
No cement shortage in Qatar, says QNCC
The Qatar National Cement Co has denied that cement is in short supply in the country, The Peninsula has reported. Qatar's largest cement-maker was able to meet at least 90% of the local requirement by itself, with only 10% was imported, QNCC's general manager Mohamed Ali Al Sulaiti said. QNCC has begun operating its new plant at full capacity and this has raised its total production capacity to 15,000 tons a day, he added.
French bid to build UAE nuclear plant
Electricite de France SA (EDF) is set to join the group of Areva SA, Total SA and GDF Suez SA that's vying to build nuclear plants in the UAE, Bloomberg has reported. EDF Chief Executive Officer Pierre Gadonneix was quoted as saying, the client Abu Dhabi has asked EDF to participate in the project. The French companies are vying to build several 1,600-megawatt civil nuclear reactors in the UAE. The French group is said to compete against General Electric Co and Korea Electric Power Corp.
Yansab gets $124.16m loan from Sabic
Saudi Yanbu National Petrochemical Co. (Yansab) received a $124.16m loan from its parent company Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) during the second quarter 2009, according to Yansab's financial results. The cost of the loan will be according to the current commercial average, and it is due by June 30, 2012, the Saudi Gazette reported.
Sabic, Exxon to expand plants
Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world's largest chemicals manufacturer, has reiterated a plan to expand two Saudi Arabian petrochemical ventures that it runs with Exxon Mobil, Bloomberg has reported. The partners had announced a plan to study expanding the Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co (Yanpet) and the Al Jubail Petrochemicals Co (Kemya) ventures in November 2006. Sabic has said it was 'pleased' with the progress on the projects and that further details on the schedule are 'confidential'.
Egypt lifts temporary duty on imported sugar
Egypt's Ministry of Trade and Industry has eliminated a temporary 500 Egyptian pound ($90) per ton duty on white and refined sugar imports that it had imposed in January, Reuters has reported. Representatives of Egypt's food industry had asked the ministry to remove the duty to help reduce input prices and enable it to compete in the export market.
Oman's cement prices expected to rise
Oman's cement prices are expected to rise in the latter half of the year thanks to $8bn worth of state projects awarded in the second quarter, including the expansion of Muscat airport and a highway, industry experts and analysts told Reuters. Oman's two cement producers had lowered prices up to 40% in early 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis as construction of private homes and corporate expansions eased.
Samsung wins $300m Saudi contract
Saudi Arabia's National Industrial Gases Co, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC), has awarded Samsung Engineering a $300m contract for an air separation plant, Reuters has reported. The plant, located in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia, will produce gaseous oxygen, nitrogen and argon from 2011, Samsung said.
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