Qatar Industries Reports Net Profit of QR 2.5 Billion in Q1

Doha, June 02 (QNA) - Qatar Industries achieved a net profit of QR2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2013, the company said Sunday. HE Minister of Energy and Industry and Managing Director of Qatar Industries said today that the company has followed up on its "record-breaking" full year results in 2012 with a strong first quarter of 2013. Qatar Industries achieved QR0.6 billion more in the first quarter of 2013 than it did in the same period of 2012. The launch of the new QR12.8 billion new facilities helped produce an additional 2 million metric tons of urea and 240,000 metric tons of LDPE production capacity, pushing profit higher in 2013. Al Sada also expressed the group's delight with the success of two joint ventures in changing their relevant marketing and distribution activities during the first quarter of 2013. Those two ventures were Qatar Fuel Additives Company Limited (QFAC) and Qatar Fertilizer Company (QAFCO), they transferred their marketing and distribution activities to Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company QJSC (Muntajat). Also, the group was pleased with the commencement of commercial operations at Qatar Steel's associate, SOLB Steel Company, in December 2012. On Qatar Steel's 31.03% share in SOLB Steel Company. The company is currently constructing a steel factory in Jazan Economic City South-West of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Qatar Industries' Board of Directors had held their first meeting of 2013 and approved initial elements of the group's new 10-year growth strategy. HE the Minister said that the group had grown immensely over the past decade, adding that net profits have grown by a compound annual growth rate of 16% a year since its first full year of operations. HE Al Sada stressed that the Board of Directors was committed to continue the growth pattern in responsible manner, saying he was confident the new 10-year growth strategy will help deliver that goal. HE the Minister said that the group's market capitalization was on its way to reach the benchmark of QR100 billion. His Excellency said he expected the group's future to be "prosperous," especially that this year will be the first full year of operation for more than QR12.8 billion of new production facilities. In addition to that, this year will see the inauguration of SOLB Steel's second rolling mill, and Qatar Steel's EF5 facility. Chief Coordinator of Qatar Industries Abdul Rahman Ahmed Al Shaibi said that the group's 5-year business plan forecasts accumulated capital spending and investments of around QR6 billion. Especially as the group incurs an initial cost of the Ras Laffan Petrochemical Complex. Qatar Industries own 16% of that project, which is worth QR18.2 billion. Al Shaibi added that Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Industries signed in 2012 a heads of agreement for the project, with Qapco appointed as the project manager. Al Shaibi noted that they have finished the initial feasibility study declaring that the project was progressing to the front-end engineering design phase. Al Shaibi said that petrochemicals made a big contribution to the group's profit, mainly because its prices remained low. Petrochemical revenue for the first quarter of 2013 was QR1.3bn. It was an increase of QR0.3 billion year-on-years. (QNA)