Safco reports big profit rise
Saudi Arabian Fertilisers Co (Safco), a Sabic enterprise, reported net profits of SR474.2 million ($126.4 million) during first half of 2005, compared with SR200.9 million in the same period of 2004.
Profits for the second quarter of 2005 were SR237.8 million compared with SR84 million in the same period last year.
Safco chairman and managing director Mohamed Al Mady, who is also the vice chairman and CEO of Sabic, commented: “Revenue on one tonne of ammonia rose by 14 per cent and urea 42 per cent. There was a 15 per cent increase in sales volume. I expect that product prices will stabilise during the ongoing rise of gas prices.”
‘Made in the UAE’
To qualify for the ‘Made in the UAE’ tag, products must have at least 40 per cent value-addition within the country, the UAE government said.
This rule forms part of the UAE’s drive to sign a series of free trade agreements (FTAs), including one with the US.
The Rules of Origin Committee said the local content rule was one of the three main conditions for classifying an item as a national product.
IQ profits surge
Industries Qatar (IQ) has posted a first-half 2005 net profit of QR1.53 billion ($420 million), up 46 per cent over the corresponding period in 2004, thanks to record oil prices.
Total assets stood at QR10 billion at the end of June 2005 versus QR8.9 billion a year ago.
Earnings per share increased to QR3.07 from QR2.10.
Industries Qatar is a holding company for Qatar Steel Company, Qatar Petrochemical Company, Qatar Fertiliser Company and Qatar Fuel Additives Company, which are some of the main industries in the state.
Contract secured
Drake & Scull International will design and construct a 60,000-tonne chilled water plant and distribution system for 54 tower blocks at Jumeirah Beach Residence. The contract is valued at around $65 million.
A separate eight-year Dh200 million ($54.4 million) operation and maintenance contract for the system was also awarded to them.
China industrial growth slows
Growth in China’s July industrial output was slower than expected as exports softened slightly and factories tried to clear out excess inventory.
Industrial production in July grew 16.1 per cent from a year earlier, below a median forecast of a 16.6 per cent increase, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
Although China chalked up a $10.4 billion trade surplus in July — the second highest on record — exports in the month rose 28.7 per cent on the year, a slight moderation after many months of annual growth over 30 per cent.
Booming exports and robust consumer spending have underpinned China’s manufacturing despite capacity gluts in some sectors that are squeezing profit margins.
Mittal profits down
The world’s biggest steelmaker, Mittal Steel, posted an 18 per cent drop in second-quarter operating income and forecast a fall in third-quarter profit as oversupply weighs on prices.
The Rotterdam-based firm, 88-per cent owned by the Mittal family, said operating income fell to $1.391 billion in the three months to June 30, down from $1.69 billion in the same period of last year and $1.719 billion in the first quarter. Operating income was hit by higher costs for raw materials such as iron ore, as well as lower production.
The world’s biggest steelmakers have been reducing output in a bid to shore up prices, which have come off recent highs as China, the driving force of a three-year price surge, has stepped up production while demand has cooled.
Adidas to buy Reebok
Germany’s Adidas-Salomon is to buy rival sporting goods firm Reebok in a deal worth 3.1 billion euros ($3.8 billion), Adidas said.
Adidas, the global number two in the sporting goods industry after Nike, is buying all outstanding shares of Reebok, the number three, for $59 per share in cash, Adidas said in a statement. The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2006, is pending the approval of Reebok shareholders and anti-trust authorities.
