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Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: The Middle East Paper Co. (‘MEPCO’), the region’s leading vertically-integrated paper manufacturer, has announced its interim financial results for the 9 months ended 30 September 2018. Net profit of SAR 87.2 million in the first three quarters increased by 99.7% from 43.6 million in the same period of 2017.
STRATEGIC HIGHLIGHTS
- Relative end product price levels fuelled revenue increase
- Restructuring debt position resulted in decreased finance cost
- Ongoing cost optimisation measures have continued to positively impact performance
Eng. Sami Safran, Chief Executive Officer, comments:
“We are pleased to announce continued improvement in year-on-year performance on both a quarterly basis and for the 9-month period ended 30 September. Year to date, operating and financial performance has delivered improved sales revenues. The global containerboard market has seen significant changes after the Chinese environmental regulation took effect in the second half of 2017. As prices stabilize during Q2 and Q3 2018, they remain at a substantial premium to 2017 levels. Eventually, prices are bound to correct, but we still expect the overall performance of this year to remain quite favorable compared to 2017.
Locally, we witnessed signs of demand softening. However, this impacted imports rather than local purchase of containerboard consumers. This explains the increased proportion of local/export sales realized during the past consecutive quarters. In response to market demand; we have allocated close to 60% of sales to local markets compared to 55% for the same period last year. MEPCO’s operational model allows it to comfortably benefit on both the local and export fronts.
Finally, I reconfirm our commitment to maximize our shareholders’ wealth while adopting best possible practices in environmental, social, and governance domains.”
© Press Release 2018
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