Oman-based steelmaker Al Jazeera Steel Products Company (Al Jazeera) has announced its financial results for the first quarter of the current year, registering a net profit of OMR 1.46 million ($3.81 million) for the given period, compared to a net profit of OMR 1.30 million recorded in the same period of 2017. In the January-March period this year, sales revenues of the company increased by 34 percent year on year to OMR 30.98 million ($80.59 million). The company registered an operating profit of OMR 1.98 million ($5.15 million) in the given period, up 17.5 percent year on year.
In the first three months of the current year, Al Jazeera produced 114,349 mt of finished steel, rising by 11 percent, while the company’s finished steel sales increased by 16 percent to 114,618 mt, both year on year.
Al Jazeera stated that the first quarter was a stable quarter from the point of steel demand in the GCC. The market, however, had its fair share of challenges in terms of liquidity and reduced government spending in its home markets. Moreover, the first month of the quarter also saw disruption in supplies to certain GCC countries due to teething trouble in VAT adoption in the market. Also, uncertainty over the US Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, weighed negatively on sentiments in the export markets. Knowing that some of these are structural issues which will not be alleviated overnight, the company has been consistently working on improving plant utilization and market/product diversification over the last couple of years, in a systematic and planned fashion, using strategic initiatives.