18.6pc surge in Almarai profit

SAUDI Arabia’s Almarai, the Gulf’s largest dairy company, reported an 18.6 per cent increase in second-quarter net profit, beating analysts’ forecasts.

Almarai made a profit of SR628.8 million ($167.7 million) in the three months to June 30, up from SR530.4 million ($141.3 million) in the year-earlier period, according to a bourse statement.

Four analysts polled by Reuters had forecast on average that Almarai would make a quarterly profit of SR530.3 million.

Kuwait tyre market set to grow

THE Kuwait tyre market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 11 per cent during 2016 – 2021, according to a report by TechSci Research, a global market research and consulting company.

The report, titled “Kuwait Tire Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2021,” said that in June 2015, the government announced its Five-Year Plan worth $116 billion for filling infrastructure gaps and boosting construction, real estate and transportation sectors in the country.

The development of all the sectors is projected to fuel demand for tyres, especially from commercial and off-the-road (OTR) segments, in the country during 2016 – 2021, it said.

Ma’aden selects Quintiq

SAUDI Arabia’s Ma’aden Aluminium has selected the planning and optimisation software platform of Netherlands-based Quintiq, a Dassault Systèmes company, to facilitate its business planning transformation programme.

The company, which is part of the Ma’aden Group, operates one of the largest and most efficient vertically-integrated aluminium production complexes in the world.

Wilo plans pump facility

GERMANY-based leading pump manufacturer Wilo has announced an investment to build a local facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), Dubai.

The investment plan consists of constructing offices, a training centre, warehouses and a local assembly plant over an 8,000 sq m plot of land to be used by Wilo Middle East FZE, the Middle East regional subsidiary of the Wilo Group.