RAK Ceramics Q3 profit jumps 15.5% as net debt climbs

Summary

• RAK Ceramics posted Q3 2026 net profit of AED 78 million, up 15.5% year-on-year.
• Quarterly revenue rose 4.4% to AED 861.5 million, while nine-month revenue was nearly flat.
• Net debt rose 4.7% in the quarter to AED 1.59 billion, lifting leverage to 2.56x.

The latest

Net profit after tax at RAK Ceramics climbed 15.5% year-on-year to AED 78 million in the third quarter of 2026, the Abu Dhabi-listed tile and sanitaryware producer reported, on revenue of AED 861.5 million. The quarterly gain outpaced a nine-month picture that was close to flat, with revenue up 0.7% and profit before tax marginally lower than a year earlier.

Details

• Quarterly revenue: Total revenue reached AED 861.5 million in Q3 2026, against AED 824.9 million in the same quarter of 2025, a rise of 4.4%, according to the company's results statement carried by Emirates News Agency.
• Nine-month revenue: For the nine months ended 30 September 2026, revenue stood at AED 2,445.1 million, up 0.7% from AED 2,428.2 million a year earlier — a far slower pace than the third quarter alone, indicating the gain was concentrated late in the period.
• Pre-tax profit: Profit before tax rose 13.4% year-on-year to AED 98.3 million in the quarter, from AED 86.6 million. Over nine months it was broadly unchanged at AED 237.0 million, slightly below the AED 237.8 million recorded in the same period of 2025.
• Bottom line: Nine-month net profit after tax edged up 1.0% to AED 184.5 million from AED 182.7 million, meaning almost all of the year's profit growth so far was generated in the third quarter.
• Margins: Gross profit margin was 40.3% in Q3 2026 against 40.5% a year earlier, a slight narrowing. For the nine-month period the margin held steady at 40.3%, unchanged from the comparable stretch of 2025.
• EBITDA: Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 4.7% to AED 175.7 million in the quarter, from AED 167.9 million. The nine-month figure slipped 0.8% to AED 460.5 million from AED 464.3 million.
• Debt position: Net debt stood at AED 1.59 billion as at 30 September 2026, up 4.7% from the end of the previous quarter. The company did not set out the drivers behind the quarterly increase.
• Leverage ratio: Net debt to EBITDA rose to 2.56x at the end of September from 2.48x at 30 June 2026, as borrowings grew faster than operating earnings over the three-month period.
• Listing: The company trades on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange under the ticker RAKCEC. Its results statement did not include guidance for the fourth quarter or a dividend announcement.
• Also: Rising leverage alongside improving margins frames the Abu Dhabi-listed maker's next quarter.

Background

RAK Ceramics is one of the Gulf's largest producers of ceramic tiles and sanitaryware, with demand closely tied to construction and real-estate activity across the UAE and regional export markets.

Between the lines

The quarter carries two signals pointing in different directions. Profit growth of 15.5% came with a gross margin that narrowed slightly, suggesting the gain owed more to volume and cost control below the gross line than to pricing. At the same time, leverage moved from 2.48x to 2.56x because debt grew while nine-month EBITDA fell 0.8% — a combination that makes the fourth-quarter earnings run-rate the variable to watch.

What's next

Watch the full-year 2026 results for whether the third-quarter earnings momentum carried into the final quarter, and whether net debt to EBITDA moves back below 2.5x after December's balance-sheet date.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)