Riyadh-Mubasher: Saudi cement demand is expected to maintain its modest growth in the short term due to recovering economic conditions after last year labor shortage despite current decline in oil prices, AlJazira Capital said in a recent report.
However, the government will continue spending on vital infrastructure projects and keep construction activity on track.
Meanwhile, margins are likely to remain low due to higher clinker inventory level in the market, which already led to higher competition for market share and resulted in selling price decline, the research firm said.
November's cement dispatches increased 6.1% year-on-year on higher construction activity and the effects of sales compared with the same period last year due to labor shortage.
In contrast, cement consumption during the first months of 2015 stood at 55.64 million tonnes, depicting an increase of 7.9% year-on-year.
Northern Cement Co. showed an improvement in its market share, increasing from 3.2% in November 2014 to 4.0% in November 2015.
Meanwhile, Saudi Cement Co.'s market share declined to 11.7% compared to 14.0% in the same month of 2014 due to the new capacity expansions in the industry and higher utilisation rate from other players.
