Saudi Arabian steel market maker Hadeed has reduced its domestic 12-32mm diameter rebar and 9mm+ wire rod and rebar in coils prices by SAR 150/tonne ($40) on-month for December deliveries, Kallanish learns.

New prices for 12-32mm diameter rebar have been reduced to net SAR 2,650/t ($706), and rebar in coils and 9mm+ wire rod to SAR 2,750/t, each delivered within the country.

The company is also offering an additional discount of SAR 150/t on December quotes for quantities above 80% of the pre-agreed quota, in order to encourage sales for projects, market sources tell Kallanish.

Tier-two and three mills are expected to set their rebar quotes in a few days, presumably at SAR 2,500-2,550/t delivered and 2,430-2,450/t ex-mill, respectively, for December deliveries.

"This price decrease aligns with the market demand and the company’s rebar prices in the retail segment, which were at SAR 2,680-2,700/t during the week the price announcement came,” comments a trader. "In November, most traders and stockists booked 80% of their pre-agreed quota because Hadeed increased by SAR 50/t on-October, which was not supported by demand in the domestic market. Coming to the last month of the year, the company has yearly sales targets; thus, at this price, Hadeed will highly likely sweep the domestic market."

Hadeed, Saudi Arabia's largest steel producer, has an annual production capacity of 3.8 million tonnes of long products and 2mt of flats, as well as 5.5mt of direct reduced iron across five DRI modules.

It reported an 18% on-year growth in third-quarter revenue to SAR 3.55 billion ($946 million). Ebitda grew 32.4% to SAR 310m, and the company made an income from operations of SAR 10m versus a year-earlier loss of SAR 40m.

However, Q3 revenue shrank 13% on-quarter, while Ebitda and operating income decreased by 52% and 98%, respectively. Average sales prices shrank 9% on-quarter, and sales volume decreased by 4%, which caused a decline in financial performance (see Kallanish passim).