Emirates Steel registers 50% increase in number of export markets amid higher demand

The company exported its products to 56 countries in 2021 amid a push to diversify its sources of revenue

The Emirates Steel plant in Mussaffah. The company has a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes a year. Antonie Robertson / The National

Emirates Steel, one of the UAE’s largest non-oil companies, recorded an increase of about 50 per cent in the number of export markets over the past two years as demand for its products picked up amid a broader economic recovery.

The company, part of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed Arkan Building Materials, exported its products to 56 countries in 2021, compared with 38 in 2019, Emirates Steel said on Thursday.

The expansion of its export footprint “is part of the company’s strategy to diversify its sources of revenue through its marketing channels, improve its agility and enhance the competitiveness of UAE products under the unified brand identity of Made in the Emirates”, it said.

Established in 1998, Emirates Steel supplies domestic and international markets with products such as wire rods, rebars, heavy sections and sheet piles.

Last year, the Abu Dhabi company's exports represented 45 per cent of its total sales volumes while the balance was sold within the UAE, where the company maintains a 60 per cent market share.

The company has a total steel production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes a year.

“Expanding our exposure to global markets is a pillar of our robust growth strategy to fulfil the complex and evolving needs of steel customers around the world … in such an ever-changing global supply chain environment,” said Saeed Al Remeithi, group chief executive of Arkan and chief executive of Emirates Steel.

“One of the main advantages that enabled Emirates Steel to successfully expand its markets is its extremely low carbon footprint production facilities.”

UAE companies are taking steps to reduce emissions in line with the country’s strategy to become net zero by 2050. Last year, Emirates Steel signed a preliminary agreement with Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, better known as Taqa, for the supply of green hydrogen to produce low-carbon steel.

Arkan acquired Emirates Steel last year from Senaat, which is part of Abu Dhabi's holding company ADQ. Arkan reported a three-fold jump in its revenue to Dh3.02 billion in 2021.

Earlier this month, Emirates Steel signed a preliminary agreement with Mauritanian mining company Societe Nationale Industrielle et Miniere to potentially create a joint venture company to produce iron oxide pellets, the primary feedstock required for the production of steel.