ABU DHABI, UAE / MENA Newswire / — EMSTEEL reported revenue of AED 2.2 billion for the first quarter of 2026, broadly unchanged from a year earlier, as sharply higher margins lifted earnings across the business. EBITDA rose 82% year on year to AED 483 million, while net profit climbed 246% to AED 299 million. The group’s EBITDA margin widened to 22.3% from 12.3% in the first quarter of 2025, marking a much stronger earnings performance for the Abu Dhabi-listed steel and building materials producer.
The quarter’s earnings improvement was driven by lower raw material costs, cost control measures and optimization efforts across operations. Average selling prices for finished steel products increased 3% from a year earlier and 1% from the previous quarter, supporting profitability even as revenue remained broadly flat. The result left EMSTEEL with materially stronger margins than in the same period last year, when earnings were lower despite a similar revenue base.
EMSTEEL’s steel division generated AED 1.90 billion in revenue in the quarter and posted EBITDA of AED 403 million, up 79% from a year earlier. Its cement division recorded revenue of AED 269 million, up 31%, and EBITDA of AED 80 million, up 100%. On a like-for-like basis, excluding the Pipes & Other segment that was divested in December 2025, cement division EBITDA increased 169% from the comparable period, underscoring stronger profitability in the remaining business.
Margins widen on lower costs
Operational volumes were mixed. Total steel sales, including finished steel products and billets, fell 6% from a year earlier to 768,000 tonnes, partly reflecting a planned rolling mill maintenance shutdown in January 2026. Cement and clinker sales moved in the opposite direction, rising 32% to 1.1 million tonnes as demand strengthened and output improved. The quarter therefore paired softer steel shipments with stronger cement activity, even as finished steel pricing improved.
The balance sheet also strengthened. As of March 31, 2026, net cash stood at AED 1.297 billion, up from AED 1.165 billion at the end of December 2025. In March, the company secured an additional AED 227 million under an existing working capital facility, lifting total available cash to AED 1.524 billion while having limited effect on net cash. The first-quarter results were disclosed to investors through the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where the company trades under the ticker EMSTEEL.
Supply deals and project links disclosed
During the quarter, the group also reported a series of commercial and strategic agreements tied to its supply chain and domestic projects business. These included memorandums of understanding with MERED and Modon on steel solutions for real estate developments in the UAE, and another with Metal Park aimed at expanding downstream steel logistics, storage and processing in Abu Dhabi. EMSTEEL also signed a five-year AED 600 million freight agreement with Oldendorff Carriers covering 5.2 million tonnes of iron ore pellets annually.
The latest quarter marks a sharp improvement from the first quarter of 2025, when revenue was also AED 2.2 billion but EBITDA totaled AED 266 million and net profit was AED 86 million. It also extends momentum from full-year 2025, when the company reported revenue of AED 8.9 billion and EBITDA of AED 1.2 billion. The first-quarter figures show that higher margins, tighter costs and stronger contributions from cement coincided with faster earnings growth at the start of 2026.
