Fujairah Cement profit hit by weaker prices

UAE-based producer Fujairah Cement recorded a AED12m (US$3.3m) loss last year as a weaker pricing environment affected revenue despite higher sales.

In a filing posted on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange yesterday, the company said revenues were AED588m last year, compared to revenues of AED569m and a gross profit of AED35m the year before.

“The market has not increased in our favour,” said Murthy Veasi, the company’s finance manager. “Prices have come down by nearly AED10 [per tonne] on average. The sale price reduced, while the quantity sold increased.”

The company sold 2.1Mt of cement last year, compared with 1.8Mt in 2012. Domestic sales were down slightly to AED242m from AED258m but sales to the wider GCC region increased by 6.8 per cent YoY to AED331m. Fujairah also made sales to non-GCC companies of AED13m.