Revenue fell 7.7% YoY to SAR 203 million as local sales volume declined. The quarterly loss narrowed sharply from Q4’s SAR 93 million, but full-year 2025 ended with a SAR 49 million loss. Next demand signal: Saudi construction data.
Alpha Score of 47 reflects weak overall profile with moderate momentum, poor value, weak quality, moderate sentiment.
Southern Province Cement posted a net loss of SAR 4 million for the first quarter of 2026, reversing a SAR 16 million profit in the same period a year earlier. The loss per share came in at SAR 0.03, down from earnings of SAR 0.12 per share in Q1 2025. Revenue dropped 7.72% year-on-year to SAR 203 million, which management attributed to a decline in local sales volume.
The revenue contraction is the immediate pressure point. Southern Province Cement’s top line fell from SAR 220 million a year ago to SAR 203 million, and the company explicitly linked the drop to lower local sales volumes. That points to demand-side weakness in the Saudi cement market, where construction activity is the primary driver. Without a breakdown of pricing versus volume, the read is straightforward: fewer tonnes shipped.
The sequential picture reinforces the demand concern. Revenue fell 13.24% from SAR 234 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. A seasonal slowdown is typical, however the year-on-year decline suggests that the underlying trend is not merely seasonal. Saudi cement producers have faced rising competition and, in some periods, project delays tied to government spending cycles. The Q1 print does not offer evidence that these headwinds are easing.
The SAR 4 million loss in Q1 2026 was a sharp improvement from the SAR 93 million loss recorded in Q4 2025. That sequential swing likely reflects lower operating costs or one-time charges that inflated the previous quarter’s loss. The company did not provide a detailed cost breakdown, so the exact driver of the improvement is unclear.
The year-on-year comparison, however, is unequivocally negative. Southern Province Cement swung from a SAR 16 million profit to a loss, and the full-year 2025 result showed a SAR 49 million loss after a SAR 193 million profit in 2024. The Q1 loss, while small in absolute terms, extends a streak of unprofitable quarters that began in the second half of 2025. The earnings trajectory suggests that the cost base is not flexing down fast enough to match the revenue decline.
Southern Province Cement’s near-term fate hinges on local construction demand. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 projects have been a long-term demand driver, however the pace of contract awards and execution can be lumpy. The Q1 revenue decline indicates that any pickup in activity has not yet materialized in the company’s sales volumes.
The next concrete signal will come from Saudi cement dispatch data or government infrastructure spending updates. Until volumes stabilize, the revenue base will remain under pressure, and fixed costs could keep the company in the red. For traders tracking the cement sector, the Q1 print is a reminder that the demand recovery is not yet priced in, and the stock’s reaction will depend on whether the market views the sequential loss narrowing as a trough or merely a pause before further deterioration.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.