Oman Cables Industry (OCI) is optimistic it will enhance its role in local and overseas markets with augmented capacities including a new plant set for production in the first quarter of 2010 in Sohar, in the north of the country.

The Sohar aluminium rod and conductor manufacturing plant is being built as a joint venture with Oman Oil Company with a designed annual production capacity of 48,000 tonnes. Oman Oil has a 51 per cent stake and OCI the remainder share in the enterprise which is described as the cable manufacturer’s first vertical expansion. It will operate downstream to the new Sohar Aluminium smelter.
The company recently augmented its production capacity of power cables and earlier built a PVC compounding plant.
OCI’s product range includes low and medium voltage cables, instrumentation and control cables, overhead line conductors for power utilities, industrial enterprises, real estate projects and the oil and gas sector.
Some 75,000 tonnes of copper will go into the production of cables this year against 55,000 tonnes in 2007. In terms of length, OCI will produce as much as 615,693 km of single-core cables this year compared with 436,477 km in 2007.
Sales for the first nine months were RO244.9 million ($636.18 million), up 57  per cent over the same period in 2007, while net profits were RO17.79 million, a growth of 76.9 per cent.
Growth in sales was attributed to increased production capacity coming on stream, better sales in local markets and business in new market sectors.
Production in all product sectors increased during the third quarter due to additional plant capacities coming on stream and improved operating efficiencies, the company said, adding that further capacity enhancements were expected as a result of the optimisation of new machines.
In 2007 the company had reported sales of RO217 million up 73 per cent, while net profits increased 58.7 per cent to RO15.13 million.
“While the current global scenario is uncertain, we believe that the cable industry in the region should not be adversely affected in the short term as many of our market sectors are linked to infrastructure development and major capital projects are under construction,” said chairman of the company Mustafa bin Mukhtar Al Lawati in his comments on the outlook.
Al Lawati said that while the company had successfully diversified its international presence with renewed emphasis on new and unexplored markets there was also the fact of additional capacities coming on stream in the Mena and GCC regions which could put margins under pressure. The company would continue to monitor the market closely to create value for its customers.
“The company is proactively working on measures to improve its cost position and enhance its productivity. Although commodity prices have been affected by the global financial crisis, the company has operating procedures in place to minimise any adverse effect it could have on OCI’s profitability,” he added.
OCI is a public limited company listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange. Draka Holding of The Netherlands invested in the company as an equity partner in 1995. Currently local entrepreneurs own roughly 24 per cent of the shares with Draka Holding owning 34 per cent and the balance held by the general public.
Draka recently acquired a significant stake in Associated Cables Pvt Limited - India (ACPL) and entrusted OCI with its management.
OCI’s roots go back to 1984 when the project idea was conceived and implemented by chairman Al Lawati and the vice chairman and managing director, Hussain bin Salman Al Lawati.
The cable manufacturing business was a spin off from an electrical products and accessories trading house that the Al Lawati family had been operating for a decade as Al-Saleh Enterprises. Al-Saleh is now one of the leading establishments in electrical accessories and lighting in Oman with local branches in Muscat, Ibri, Sohar and Hail and overseas branches in the UAE.