Global Investment House (GIH) has said cement producers in the GCC region have seen a 24.3% rise in revenues in the first quarter to $1.26bn, on higher construction activity in certain parts of the region.
Profits made by the sector jumped 21.1% to $435.6m from $359.54m in the first quarter of last year, a report by the investment house said.
“The UAE and Oman, which used to report declining sales revenues, reported higher revenues due to the better operating environments in both countries,” GIH said in the report. 
However, Saudi Arabia achieved strong growth of 34.7% in revenue during the quarter, outperforming the UAE, Qatar and Oman. The kingdom is witnessing a significant rise in demand because of its development plan.
In March 2011, King Abdullah ordered the construction of 500,000 housing units, as well as the building and expansion of hospitals.
This will help “shore up demand for cement as more housing units are in demand,” the investment firm said.
