Raysut Cement Company (RCC) has acquired UAE's Pioneer Cement at a price of $172 million, thus representing it one of the biggest cement manufacturers in the Gulf area.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of RCCR, Mohammed Ahmed al Dheeb, this makes Raysut one of the biggest cement producers in the Gulf region.

Oman's Raysut Cement has registered a decent growth of 22.9% in third-quarter profit. The company had recorded a profit of RO6.88 million in the reporting quarter as compared to RO5.6million in the prior-year period.

During the first nine months of the current year, Raysut has clocked a net profit of RO24.18 million, compared with RO26.13 million in the prior-year period.

Earlier in October, Saudi Arabia-based Southern Province Cement has registered a 5.4 per cent decline in third-quarter net profit while Yanbu Cement earnings plunged almost 20 per cent.

Saudi Arabia-based Yanbu Cement Company has clocked 20% decline in third-quarter net profit.
The company has attributed the dip in net profit to weaker sales.

Yanbu Cement representatives stated in a communiqué that the company's net profit figure during review quarter stood at SR98 million compared to SR122 million in the corresponding period a year ago.

Saudi Arabia's Arabian Cement Company (ACC) has announced that it has decided to launch its first plant outside the Kingdom in fiscal 2010 with the aim to boost capacity.

According to sources, the Jordan-based plant is currently under construction and will have an annual production capacity of two million tonnes by the first quarter of next year.

The company authorities said that they are expecting production early next year with 5,000 tonnes per day.