Saudi cement sales rise 7% in December: Aljazira Cap

Cement and clinker sales in Saudi Arabia rose 7.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 4.37 million tons (including exports) in December 2018 compared to 4.08 million tons in the previous year, Aljazira Capital said in a report on Wednesday.

Clinker inventory increased 18.8 percent YoY and 0.8 percent month-on-month (MoM) to 42.34 million tons last month, but cement dispatches were down 10 percent YoY.

Meanwhile, total utilization rate of Saudi cement sector fell to 54.1 percent in December compared to 62.4 percent in the same period last year.

Hail and Southern Cement recorded the highest YoY increase in sales of 32.3 percent and 24.7 percent, respectively. On the other hand, Northern Cement showed the highest decline of 51.4 percent YoY, followed by City Cement falling 26.8 percent YoY.

According to Aljazira Capital, Southern and Saudi Cement recorded the highest market share of 14.7 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively, last month.

Al Jouf Cement recorded the highest enterprise value per ton (EV/ton) of SAR 1002.9, followed by Saudi Cement with EV/Ton of SAR 971.5, the consultancy added.