Yanbu Cement’s performance lifted by market recovery, demand to grow by early 2021: CEO

The improving market conditions reflected positively on Yanbu Cement Co.’s performance and its ability to control expenses in the current year, company CEO Ahmed Bin Abduh Zugail told Argaam in an exclusive.

Export volumes of cement and clinker reached 212,000 tons in Q3 2020, he said, adding the company’s inventory stands at 4.8 million tons in the three-month period ended Sept. 30, 2020, compared to 4.2 million tons during the same period in 2019.

Zugail pointed out that the sector was negatively impacted as construction costs increased due to the value-added tax (VAT) at 15%, which led some investors to shift from the real estate sector to other sectors, primarily equities.

Meanwhile, the demand for cement is projected to grow in Q4 2020 and the beginning of 2021, Zugail highlighted, expecting a price decline due to higher inventory of clinker in the Kingdom.

According to data compiled by Argaam, Yanbu Cement reported a net profit after Zakat and tax of SAR 210.12 million for the first nine months of 2020, a rise of 20% year-on-year.