Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eng. Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Mady said that SABIC has not achieved great profits from iron prices due to the large increase in the prices of raw materials, noting that the increase in prices amounted to around SR 700 per ton, representing approximately 35 percent hike. In a press conference held here today on the occasion of the announcement of the results of the first quarter of this year, in which the company achieved a net profit of SR 5.43 billion, as compared to a net loss of SR 0.97 billion for the same quarter in 2009, and as compared to the previous quarter's SR 4.58 billion, representing an increase of 19 percent, Al-Mady pointed out that the current year will witness the introduction of more productive capabilities after the completion of projects of Al-Sharq and Yansab Complexes and joint petrochemical complex in China, which further increase the profitability of the company. He added that the future of the petrochemical industry and iron products in SABIC is largely associated with the extent of recovery and growth of the global economy from the crisis in the last two years. As for SABIC's iron production, Al-Mady noted that there is currently an iron plant under construction with a capacity of one million tons annually to meet local needs in addition to the expansion of other local iron plants.
