Oman Cement net profit rises 37% in 2012

Oman Cement Company announced a 37 per cent rise in net profit in 2012 following a rise in revenue.

Net profit for the 12 months to December 2012 climbed to OMR17.5m (US$45.5m) from OMR12.8m from the year before. Revenue rose to OMR59.3m in 2012 from OMR50.7m the year before. Total expenses stood at OMR39.6m, up from OMR36.2m.

Oman’s cement sector, which had previously been experiencing problems due to a dampening of demand in the UAE cement sector, registered positive growth in 2012 thanks to a revival in the local industry along with the recovery in the UAE cement sector. Domestic cement demand was about 6.2Mt in 2012 and this is forecast to rise to around 6.8Mt in 2013, according to estimates from Global Investment House (Kuwait). The Omani government has announced plans to invest OMR314.9m (US$817.9m) in road infrastructure projects during 2013 as well as 681 infrastructure development projects, worth a total of OMR1.5bn (US$3.9bn).