meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Ducab undaunted by global market headwinds

3 October 2024

 

Register for MEED's 14-day trial access 

The adoption of a business expansion strategy about three years ago has taken Ducab Group to new markets and opened up new industrial sectors. More importantly, the strategy has positioned the company to better withstand global economic challenges, says group CEO Mohammad Almutawa. 

Ducab Group, which is equally- owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) and Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, registered a year-on-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of 31%, as of the end of the first half of this year. 

“The Ducab strategy has three pillars – optimisation of existing assets and businesses, diversifying our revenue streams and enhancing our organisation,” Almutawa said. 

“We still expect a record year for Ducab, whether it is from a capacity and production point of view, or from a market penetration and market expansion perspective, or from profitability,” he told MEED. 

Ducab Group recently announced that its subsidiary, Ducab Metals Business, will double its output of aluminium products from 55,000 tonnes a year (t/y) to 110,000 t/y.

Ducab Metals Business will build the new aluminium products facility in Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (Kezad), where it already owns a 50,000 square-metre facility, the company said at a conference in Abu Dhabi on 5 September. In May, the firm signed a 50-year land lease agreement with Kezad to acquire a 51,015 sq m plot, on which it will build the new plant.

Meeting demand 

The investment in increasing production capacity will help meet rising demand for aluminium products at home and overseas, the company’s leadership said at the event titled ‘Ducab Metals Business Expansion Forum: Advancing capacity, driving innovation’, held in partnership with MEED. 

“This [production capacity] expansion will allow us to enter the AED7bn [$1.9bn] revenue club. We are moving from AED6.6bn, and adding another AED600m,” revealed Mohamed Al-Ahmedi, CEO of Ducab Metals Business. 

“We are in the hot metals line in Kezad. We are getting aluminium as feedstock from [Emirates Global Aluminium] EGA, producing it, and using Khalifa Port to export the products,” he said to MEED. 

“The new facility is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year, and we will start producing next year. The facility is in an advanced stage of construction,” Al-Ahmedi further said. 

Market challenges 

As a supplier of aluminium and copper products, as well as electric cables of various specifications to multiple industries around the world, Ducab Group is not immune to challenges prevalent in the global economic landscape.  

“The geopolitical situation has impacted us [financially],” Almutawa said. There are “difficulties arising from supply chain disruptions, competition, and shifting of capacities around the world. I will attribute this more to severe competition than economic slowdown. I think the sector [metal products] is a challenging one. There is overcapacity”, he commented.

“There is a sort of a shift of appetite from globalisation to regionalisation. Countries putting up trade barriers and tariffs. This is definitely one of the risks that we try to look at consciously,” Al-Ahmedi said.

Almutawa added: “It’s a change in the behaviour of the market. It is a challenge. Overall, the world is becoming quite small [commercially conservative].”

“While, previously, people were looking at expansions through acquisitions to increase capacities, increase efficiencies and manufacturing abilities, there is an added element of market access now, which forces you, some time, to move your investment offshore in order to secure the growth,” Almutawa further explained. 

In April this year, Ducab Metals Business completed the acquisition of GIC Magnet, a supplier of paper-insulated aluminium strips, among other products. GIC Magnet “is a UAE manufacturing entity with ties back to India. We acquired this company earlier this year and integrated it into Ducab as part of the expansion”, Al-Ahmedi stated. 

“We expect around $40m of additional revenues through this acquisition. To us, this acquisition is one of the gateways to enter into a new business,” he remarked. 

Almutawa affirmed he is eyeing targets for acquisitions as a way to grow the business. “We are looking at more acquisitions. We are looking for both organic and inorganic growth,” the group CEO revealed. 

Business growth 

Ducab Group’s portfolio mainly comprises two subsidiary companies – Ducab Metals Business and Ducab Cables Business. 

“DCB continues to focus on growing [its presence/share] in the oil and gas market and increasing its contribution. We are not supplying to the UAE and GCC only. We supply to oil and gas customers in Australia, the UK, Europe, Asia, Far East and India,” Almutawa said. 

Ducab Group has been a major supplier of equipment to the oil and gas industry since inception, and has been primarily catering to projects of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group), among other regional and global customers. 

Almutawa revealed that Ducab has won orders to supply products to Adnoc’s $17bn Hail and Ghasha sour gas megaproject and Adnoc Group subsidiary, Al-Dhafra Petroleum’s Haliba field development projects. 

“We are doing extremely well [with oil and gas customers]. We are based in an oil-predominant economy in the UAE. We have always contributed to it by providing the capabilities and diversity, and by introducing technical know-how, and by expanding our contribution to that sector,” Almutawa said. 

On the question of expanding Ducab Group’s copper segment, Almutawa said: “We are looking at further optimising our copper lines to squeeze more out of it. There are no plans for a straightforward capacity expansion.  

“In the energy sector, there is a huge transition from copper to aluminium. This does not mean that copper is going to reduce. But the usage of aluminium has increased considerably. Hence the expansion in the aluminium business. 

“Going forward, 2025 is going to continue to be a difficult year. But I think Ducab is in a much better shape to face that,”
Almutawa said. 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12597510/main.jpg
Indrajit Sen

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Regional rail industry emerges

    8 December 2025

    Commentary
    Colin Foreman
    Editor

    Read the December issue of MEED Business Review

    The GCC is experiencing a fundamental shift in its approach to rail infrastructure, as it moves from standalone projects to a self-sustaining regional industry. The transition is evident as local, national and regional projects advance across the region.

    The first wave of metro systems, in Dubai, Doha, and most recently, Riyadh, have reported stronger-than-expected ridership and demonstrated the viability of mass transit in the Gulf.

    Extensions to those networks are planned or under way, including Dubai’s Blue and Gold lines and Riyadh’s Line 2, alongside planned metros elsewhere such as Muscat and Bahrain.

    Projects are also planned and already being delivered at the national level. The UAE’s Etihad Rail and Saudi Arabian Railways are leading most of these efforts. The region’s first cross-border project is also progressing with the Hafeet Rail scheme linking the UAE and Oman.

    Other cross-border schemes are planned, including high speed links connecting Riyadh with Doha and Kuwait City, and rail links for Bahrain across causeways to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The ultimate ambition is a GCC Rail network – a project that was reinvigorated by the Al-Ula accords in 2021.

    Sustained, simultaneous activity across the GCC is fostering the development of an indigenous regional rail industry. Rather than being executed as isolated endeavours, projects are creating ongoing demand for expertise, personnel and resources within the region.

    Project delivery capability will be complemented by the establishment of crucial ancillary services, including fabrication and servicing facilities.

    These operations will shift the GCC from a lucrative market for international contractors to a regional hub for the rail industry, capable of servicing and sustaining its growing network.

    READ THE DECEMBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Prospects widen as Middle East rail projects are delivered; India’s L&T storms up MEED’s EPC contractor ranking; Manama balances growth with fiscal challenges

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the December 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > BAHRAIN MARKET FOCUS: Manama pursues reform amid strain
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15213797/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Visa agrees to support digital payments in Syria

    5 December 2025

    Visa and the Central Bank of Syria have agreed on a strategic roadmap that will allow the US-based card and digital payments company to begin operations in Syria and support the development of a modern digital payments system.

    Under the agreement, Visa will work with licensed Syrian financial institutions under a phased plan to establish a secure foundation for digital payments.

    The early stages will involve Visa supporting the central bank in issuing Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV)-compliant payment cards and enabling tokenised digital wallets – bringing the country in line with internationally interoperable standards.

    Visa will also provide access to its platforms, including near-field communication (NFC) and QR-based payments, invest in local capacity building and support local entrepreneurs seeking to develop solutions leveraging Visa’s global platform.

    “A reliable and transparent payment system is the bedrock of economic recovery and a catalyst that builds the confidence required for broader investment to flow into the country,” noted Visa’s senior VP for the Levant, Leila Serhan. “This partnership is about choosing a path where Syria can leapfrog decades of legacy infrastructure development and immediately adopt the secure, open platforms that power modern commerce.”

    The move marks one of the most significant steps yet in Syria’s slow and uneven return to the formal global financial system and carries implications that reach beyond just payments technology.

    It lays the groundwork for overturning more than a decade of financial isolation in which Syria has operated largely outside global banking and settlement networks.

    Visa’s entry will not erase all existing barriers – as many restrictions remain in force and will continue to shape what is practically possible – but its support signals a reopening of channels that could smooth Syria’s reintegration into financial networks.

    The involvement of the US-based payments provider is also a further tacit sign of the US government’s enthusiastic bear hug of the new post-Assad Syrian government under President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

    For investors assessing long-term opportunities, the presence of a globally recognised payments operator will provide reassurance that Syria’s financial system is returning to international norms, and the security and transparency that comes with it.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15207198/main3225.gif
    MEED Editorial
  • Meraas announces next phase of Nad Al-Sheba Gardens

    5 December 2025

    Dubai-based real estate developer Meraas Holding, which is part of Dubai Holding, has announced the eleventh and final phase of its Nad Al-Sheba Gardens residential community in Dubai.

    It includes the development of 210 new villas and townhouses and a school, which will be located at the northwest corner of the development.

    The latest announcement follows Meraas awarding a AED690m ($188m) contract for the construction of the fourth phase of the Nad Al-Sheba Gardens community in May, as MEED reported.

    The contract was awarded to local firm Bhatia General Contracting.

    The scope of the contract covers the construction of 92 townhouses, 96 villas and two pool houses.

    The contract award came after Dubai-based investment company Shamal Holding awarded an estimated AED80m ($21m) contract to UK-based McLaren Construction last year for the Nad Al-Sheba Gardens mall.

    The project covers the construction and interior fit-out of a two-storey mall, covering an area of approximately 12,600 square metres.

    The UAE’s heightened real estate activity is in line with UK analytics firm GlobalData’s forecast that the construction industry in the country will register annual growth of 3.9% in 2025-27, supported by investments in infrastructure, renewable energy, oil and gas, housing, industrial and tourism projects. 

    The residential construction sector is expected to record an annual average growth rate of 2.7% in 2025-28, supported by private investments in the residential housing sector, along with government initiatives to meet rising housing demand.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15206904/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Frontrunner emerges for Riyadh-Qassim IWTP

    5 December 2025

     

    Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest has emerged as frontrunner for the contract to develop the Riyadh-Qassim independent water transmission pipeline (IWTP) project, according to sources.

    State water offtaker Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) is preparing to award the contract for the IWTP "in the coming weeks", the sources told MEED.

    The project, valued at about $2bn, will have a transmission capacity of 685,000 cubic metres a day. It will include a pipeline length of 859 kilometres (km) and a total storage capacity of 1.59 million cubic metres.

    In September, MEED reported that bids had been submitted by two consortiums and one individual company.

    The first consortium comprises Saudi firms Al-Jomaih Energy & Water, Al-Khorayef Water & Power Technologies, AlBawani Capital and Buhur for Investment Company.

    The second consortium comprises Bahrain/Saudi Arabia-based Lamar Holding, the UAE's Etihad Water & Electricity (Ewec) and China’s Shaanxi Construction Installation Group.

    The third bid was submitted by Saudi Arabia's Vision Invest.

    It is understood that financial and technical bids have now been opened and Vision Invest is likely to be awarded the deal.

    The Riyadh-based investment and development company made a "very aggressive" offer, one source told MEED.

    In November, the firm announced it had sold a 10% stake in Saudi Arabia-based Miahona as part of a strategy to reallocate capital "towards new and diversified investments".

    The company did not disclose which projects the capital might be reallocated towards.

    As MEED recently reported, Vision Invest is also bidding for two major packages under Dubai's $22bn tunnels programme in a consortium with France's Suez Water Company.

    The Riyadh-Qassim transmission project is the third IWTP contract to be tendered by SWPC since 2022.   

    The first two are the 150km Rayis-Rabigh IWTP, which is under construction, and the 603km Jubail-Buraydah IWTP, the contract for which was awarded to a team of Riyadh-based companies comprising Al-Jomaih Energy & Water, Nesma Group and Buhur for Investment Company.

    Like the first two IWTPs, the Riyadh-Qassim IWTP project will be developed using a 35-year build-own-operate-transfer contracting model.

    Commercial operations are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2030.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15206609/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Adnoc creates new company to operate Ghasha concession

    5 December 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    The board of directors of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group) has approved the establishment of a new company to operate the Ghasha offshore sour gas concession in Abu Dhabi waters.

    The decision to create the new entity, to be called Adnoc Ghasha, was taken during a recent meeting of Adnoc Group’s board in Abu Dhabi, which was chaired by Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

    Adnoc Group owns and operates the Ghasha concession, holding the majority 55% stake. The other stakeholders in the asset are Italian energy major Eni with a 25% stake, Thailand’s PTTEP Holding, which holds a 10% interest, and Russia’s Lukoil, owning the remaining 10% stake.

    The Ghasha concession consists of the Hail and Ghasha fields, along with the Hair Dalma, Satah al-Razboot (Sarb), Bu Haseer, Nasr, Shuwaihat and Mubarraz fields.

    Adnoc expects total gas production from the concession to ramp up to more than 1.8 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) before the end of the decade, along with 150,000 barrels a day of oil and condensates. This target will mainly be achieved through the Hail and Ghasha sour gas development project.

    In October 2023, Adnoc and its partners awarded $16.94bn of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for its Hail and Ghasha project – the biggest capital expenditure made by the Abu Dhabi energy company on a single project in its history.

    Adnoc awarded the onshore EPC package to Italian contractor Tecnimont, while the offshore EPC package was awarded to a consortium of Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Energy and Italian contractor Saipem.

    The $8.2bn contract relates to EPC work on offshore facilities, including facilities on artificial islands and subsea pipelines.

    The Hail and Ghasha development will also feature a plant that will capture and purify carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for sequestration (CCS), in line with Adnoc’s committed investment for a carbon capture capacity of almost 4 million tonnes a year (t/y). The CO2 recovery plant will have a total capacity to capture and store 1.5 million t/y of emissions from the Hail and Ghasha scheme.

    Prior to reaching the final investment decision on the Hail and Ghasha project in 2023, the Ghasha concession partners, led by Adnoc, awarded two EPC contracts worth $1.46bn in November 2021 to execute offshore and onshore EPC works on the Dalma gas development project. The project will enable the Dalma field to produce about 340 million cf/d of natural gas.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15206382/main2754.jpg
    Indrajit Sen