EARNINGS WATCH- Qalaa Holdings revenues rose 21% y-o-y in 3Q2019 to EGP 3.9 bn on the back of a broad-based expansion in volumes at TAQA Arabia, the company’s energy platform, Qalaa said in its earnings release (pdf). TAQA booked a y-o-y growth of 30% in 3Q219. Qalaa Holdings booked a net loss after minority interest of EGP 395.3 mn in 3Q19 against a net profit of EGP 158.1 mn in 3Q2018. It should be noted that 3Q18 results included non-cash gains related to a provision reversal as well as gains due to the deconsolidation of Africa Railway’s operational liabilities, the firm said.

ERC operating at 100% capacity: “I am particularly pleased to report that our flagship greenfield Egyptian Refining Company is now fully operational, having ramped up capacity utilization from 85 percent as of 30 September 2019 to its current 100% utilization rates,” said Qalaa Holdings Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal. “Since inauguration of its facility, the Company has sold approximately 1.1 MT of refined products to EGPC, in addition to 129 thousand tons of pet coke and 15 thousand tons of sulphur sold to key cement and fertilizer players as of November 2019. Currently ERC is making a Gross Refining Margin (GRM) of around USD 3 million per day when operating at full capacity. The plant also offers opportunities to expand production capacity with minimal incremental investments.”

This story has been corrected, after speaking with a company representative, to reflect that ERC’s utilization rate is 100%, not 85% as stated in an earlier version of the story. The link the Qalaa’s earnings release has also been updated.