Muscat – Al Maha Ceramics Company on Thursday announced the acquisition of a 45 per cent stake in Al Hael Ceramics Company.

Al Maha Ceramics is one of the largest ceramic tiles manufacturers in Oman. The company produces around 6mn sqm of tiles annually and export its tiles to over 15 countries.

Al Hael Ceramics is the largest manufacturer of tiles and porcelain in Oman with a capacity to produce up to 18mn sqm of tiles annually.

Al Hael’s manufacturing plant was completed in 2019 with an investment of around RO40mn. The factory has state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and its equipment have been purchased from the leading Italian equipment manufacturer, SACMI.

Al Hael is able to produce tiles of a large variety of sizes including the largest sizes in demand by the market.

As part of the transaction Al Maha will also operate Al Hael for a period of five years, with a possibility of extending for another five years, thereby allowing Al Hael to benefit from Al Maha’s extensive experience in the production and sales of tiles, according to a press statement.

In return Al Maha will receive RO120,000 as a service fee in the first two years and in subsequent years it will be entitled to 10 per cent of the net profits.

The GCC market for floor and wall tiles is estimated to grow at an average annual growth rate of 6 per cent between 2022-2028 and reach 328mn sqm tiles and US$4.1bn in revenues by 2028.

The market demand in Oman for tiles is currently estimated to be around 40mn sqm per annum and valued at around US$550mn. Oman’s tile market is expected to grow to 65.5mn sqm by 2028 and generate revenues of US$1bn.

Al Maha and Al Hael will have a total combined capacity to produce over 24mn sqm in porcelain and ceramic tiles. The two companies together will become one of the largest tiles producers in the GCC and the only producer of porcelain tiles in Oman. It will therefore be in a favorable position to serve Oman and the GCC demand for ceramic and porcelain tiles.

Al Maha is planning to start producing its first tiles in Al Hael factory in November 2022. The factory is expected to create over 300 jobs and will support Oman’s Vision 2040 in diversifying Oman’s economic activity.