Six industrial companies have made it into the top 100 this year. However, despite a focus on expanding the industrial sector, particularly in the Gulf region, only two of the six industrial groups featured moved up the ranking. Iran’s Mapna Group climbed two places to 90, while the Saudi Industrial Investment Group moved from 80 to 73.

The highest-placed industrial group, Industries Qatar (IQ), the only industrial group in the top 40, slipped from third to fourth in the table. The IQ group consists of four major firms, of which only Qatar Steel Company is fully owned. The other three, Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco), Qatar Fuel Additives Company and Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), are all joint ventures with international firms. After recording growth in 2012, IQ reported a fall in revenue to QR5.8bn ($1.6bn) in 2013, a drop of QR331m from the previous year. Net profit also fell by QR429m to QR8bn in 2013.

The next highest-placed industrial group, Saudi Arabia’s National Industrialization Company (Tasnee), fell four places to 47. This follows a 12-place slide in 2013, from 31 in 2012. The company, which is involved in petrochemicals and metals manufacturing, saw its net profit drop 33.3 per cent from SR1.8bn ($480m) in 2012 to SR1.2bn in 2013. The fall was attributed to a decrease in profit in the titanium dioxide sector.

In September, MEED reported that Tasnee was close to completing a planned SR4bn corporate loan, which will be used to finance investments in subsidiaries and may help turn around its performance in the future.

Three cement firms dropped out of the MEED 100: Yamama Saudi Cement Company; Yanbu Cement Company; and Casablanca-listed Lafarge Ciments.

The two remaining cement producers – Saudi Cement Company and Southern Province Cement Company – from Saudi Arabia both slipped down the list. Saudi Cement fell from 55 to 61, and Southern Province Cement fell from 54 to 66 as cement demand in the kingdom dropped, largely due to the slowdown in construction projects as a result of the exodus of thousands of expatriate construction workers on illegal employment amid a government clampdown.

Iranian companies in the metals sector have seen an average drop of 10 per cent in earnings, due to reduced demand and falling prices