Gulf Cement Company

An integrated cement producer in Ras Al Khaimah

As of: 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05 / 2026-06-30 / 2026-08-03

Gulf Cement Company P.S.C. (ADX: GCEM) manufactures and markets cement from Ras Al Khaimah, serving the UAE and export markets. Established in 1977, it is a separately listed operating company within the ownership chain of Buzzi. This profile describes GCEM, not the worldwide assets or consolidated euro results of its Italian ultimate parent. The latest reporting period considered is the first half of 2026; the editorial cutoff is 30 August 2026. Its former Kuwait listing ended in December 2020 and must not be presented as a current dual listing.

Industrial development and location

As of: 2026-08-30

Production began in 1982. Successive investments expanded the works through clinker storage, grinding improvements and a second kiln line in 2006. The site is in Khor Khwair, opposite Saqr Port, giving the business an industrial and logistics base for domestic and export supply. The location is an operating asset, not a guarantee of cheap transport or export margins. Historical expansion descriptions establish the plant’s development; they do not show current output, uptime or shipment volumes.

Control, shareholder dates and group boundaries

As of: 2025-10-31 / 2025-12-02 / 2026-08-30 / 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05 / 2026-06-30 / 2026-08-03

TC MENA Holdings Ltd became the controlling owner following completion of the mandatory offer on 8 May 2025. Buzzi owns 90% of TC MENA; that percentage is not Buzzi’s direct stake in GCEM. The issuer’s published snapshot dated 31 October 2025 lists TC MENA at 64.33% and the Government of Ras Al Khaimah at 7.26%. These dated percentages are not asserted to be today’s register. The June 2026 notes still identify TC MENA as parent and Buzzi as ultimate parent. Buzzi’s other plants are not GCEM subsidiaries. The selected issuer accounts report GCEM’s own financial perimeter, rather than Buzzi’s consolidated group.

Capacity is not production

As of: 2026-08-30

Buzzi’s UAE profile describes annual cement capacity of approximately 2.4 million tonnes. This is the cement measure used here. Historical company descriptions give different clinker-line and aggregate capacity figures; those are not silently combined into one current number. Kiln capacity and cement grinding capacity concern different stages. Neither proves achieved utilisation. Actual tonnes produced and sold, kiln availability, grinding utilisation and product mix are needed to distinguish a physical productivity improvement from better pricing. Current measured values for those indicators are not established in the selected evidence.

Customers, geography and earnings economics

As of: 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05 / 2026-06-30 / 2026-08-03

In 2025, UAE revenue was AED 396.42 million and export revenue AED 155.15 million. Seven customers represented 53% of annual revenue, making customer relationships and payment timing material to cash conversion. Cement earnings depend on price and mix as well as volume, fuel, power, maintenance and freight. The first-half 2026 notes attribute improvement to pricing, a stronger domestic mix and operating efficiencies. This is management’s explanation, not a quantified decomposition of each driver. Historical export reach should not be treated as a verified current country-by-country sales map.

Annual and latest interim results

As of: 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05 / 2026-06-30

The table reports GCEM amounts in AED million, rounded. Full-year flows and six-month flows have different lengths and should not be annualised mechanically. Parent-group euro figures are excluded. The annual report received an unmodified Grant Thornton opinion; the interim document is unaudited financial information subject to review, not a full annual audit. Positive interim earnings represent progress, but cash and funding must be assessed separately.

Cash conversion and the funding bridge

As of: 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05 / 2026-06-30

Despite the smaller loss, 2025 operating cash flow was negative AED 14.84 million and additions to property, plant and equipment were AED 40.13 million. Those figures show why the income statement alone was insufficient to describe the funding requirement. By June 2026 cash was AED 7.21 million, but bank debt had risen to AED 96.09 million and a shareholder loan was present. A higher closing cash balance does not prove that operating cash conversion improved; borrowing and asset or working-capital movements can also change it. No unverified half-year operating-cash-flow figure is inserted.

Bank debt and available facilities

As of: 2026-06-30 / 2026-08-03

At 30 June 2026, bank debt comprised AED 61.69 million of overdrafts and AED 34.40 million of short-term loans. Overdrafts are repayable on demand; the loans fall due within twelve months. Variable rates are linked to EIBOR plus a spread. Security includes inventory and movable-asset arrangements. Management reports approximately AED 51.1 million undrawn within AED 147.1 million of revolving facilities and compliance with banking covenants at the reporting date. Undrawn limits are financing availability, not cash already received or a guarantee of future access.

Shareholder support is still debt

As of: 2026-06-30

The company entered a three-year shareholder facility on 8 May 2026; the June balance owed to TC MENA was AED 25.71 million. Interest is 6.3% annually. Importantly, the lender may demand repayment, payable within 30 days, so the balance is classified as current. Describing it simply as three-year funding would conceal the contractual repayment feature. It is separate from bank debt and does not become equity merely because the lender controls the company. Related-party oversight remains relevant even when support helps sustain operations.

Asset values and energy sensitivity

As of: 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05

Property, plant and equipment impairment was a key audit matter in the annual report, not a qualification of the audit opinion. The 2025 value-in-use model assumed 2% growth in price per tonne and an 11.75% discount rate. No PPE impairment was recognised under the base case. The disclosed sensitivity indicated AED 8.94 million impairment if fuel and power prices increased on average by 3.1%. These are assumptions and a scenario in a dated accounting test, not a forecast that prices or asset values will change by those amounts. They illustrate the importance of energy economics to recoverable plant value.

Strategy and the conditions for a durable recovery

As of: 2026-06-30 / 2026-08-03 / 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05

Management links its plans to stronger domestic sales, pricing, operational discipline and the expertise of the new controlling owner. The June notes also describe a three-year fuel supply arrangement and flexibility through coal alongside gas. These measures can support continuity, but contracts and strategic support do not remove market-linked selling-price or fuel risks. Editorially, the next test is whether earnings can be sustained alongside reliable plant operation, cash generation and manageable short-term funding. No assumed synergies, target valuation or promised investment return is added.

Principal business risks

As of: 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05 / 2026-06-30 / 2026-08-03

Construction demand, customer concentration, energy and freight costs can pressure margins. Short-term bank funding and the callable shareholder loan create repayment sensitivity even with disclosed undrawn facilities. Asset valuation depends on operating assumptions; nameplate capacity is not proof of profitable utilisation. The change in control brings industrial expertise but does not remove minority-shareholder governance needs. These are analytical implications of the disclosed business and financing structure, not probabilities or trading advice. Missing operating indicators should remain explicit rather than be filled with industry averages.

Official public contacts

As of: 2026-08-30 / 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05

Buzzi’s UAE company page lists Gulf Cement at Al Rams Road, Khor Khwair, opposite Saqr Port, Ras Al Khaimah; telephone +971 7 202 7200 and info@gulfcement.ae. The registered postal address is P.O. Box 5295, Ras Al Khaimah. The issuer’s investor-relations contact page also lists +971 7 202 7377. These are published business channels, not private staff contacts. Use the issuer’s financial-statements and investor-relations pages for updates; retain the dates attached to ownership and financial data when comparing later disclosures.

Sources

1. A · Source A · 2025-12-31 / 2026-02-05
2. H · Source H · 2026-06-30 / 2026-08-03
3. B · Source B · 2026-06-30
4. M · Source M · 2026-06-30
5. O · Source O · 2025-10-31 / 2025-12-02 / 2026-08-30
6. C · Source C · 2026-08-30
7. T · Source T · 2026-08-30
8. IR · Source IR · 2026-08-30