Riyadh – Mubasher: National Industrialization Co (Tasnee) on Tuesday announced the delay of operating titanium ilmenite smelter plant until the second half of 2019.
Tasnee said that it will push back the plant operation due to a technical issue, according to a statement.
“While the Furnace 1 is cooling down over the next month, we will work together with Outotec, the EPC Contractor who has designed and constructed the Plant to examine and identify the root causes of the need to shut-down, together with the support of tronox under the technical services agreement,” the statement added.
Tasnee further indicated that once it specified the reasons which led to the shut down in the plant’s furnace 1, it will resolve the problem, while Cristal, which is a 79% subsidiary of Tasnee, currently plans to operate furnace 2 soon.
“The financial impact of this project on Tasnee's consolidated results cannot be determined at this stage,” the statement noted.
Tasnee owns a 50% stake in titanium ilmenite smelter plant, while Cristal owns the remaining stake.
Tasnee last reported a 35.4% rise in net profits after calculating Zakat and Tax, reaching SAR 259.4 million in the third quarter of 2018, compared to SAR 191.6 million in Q3-17.
By 11:03 am Saudi time, Tasnee’s stock fell 1.91% to SAR 17.42.
