RAK Ceramics returns to steady growth

RAK Ceramics closes its best first quarter since 2016, with total revenues up by 22%, total gross profit margin at 35% and net profit over pre-pandemic levels.

RAK Ceramics, one of the largest ceramics brands in the world, announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31 March 2021, which confirm the return to a state of steady growth. The company surpassed pre-pandemic levels of operation, with record levels of revenue and profitability.

This is very good news for the Ras-al-Khaimah-based Group after a challenging 2020, when total revenues dropped by 8.7% to AED 2.35 billion (approx. 521 million euros) due to the COVID-19 lockdowns in the second quarter and despite the accelerated recovery in the third and fourth quarters.

“Operations across global markets continued to improve, leading to the strongest start to the year recorded by RAK Ceramics since 2016”, said CEO Abdallah Massaad. “Total revenue is the highest it has been in 5 years, increasing by 21.9% year on year. Total gross profit margin reached an all-time high of 35.0% driven by an increase in revenue, an improvement in efficiencies and the optimisation of production lines. Reported net profit outperformed pre-pandemic levels of profit.

Saudi Arabia has confirmed to be one of RAK Ceramics’ major export markets. Here, revenues had already increased last year by 57.9% year on year. Thanks to further investments to open new showrooms and to develop significant brand equity, Q1 2021 was closed with revenue up by 78.5% and RAK Ceramics being now the go-to provider of premium ceramic products in the Kingdom.

Very positive results were also registered on the European markets, with revenues up by 22.7% in Q1 2021, as well as in India (+67%) and Bangladesh (+18.9%), where RAK Ceramics has production units.

Read the complete interview with Abdallah Massaad published in Ceramic World Review no. 142/2021