Saudi Savola Q2 operating profit up 67%

SHELF LIVES: Savola's brands include Afia, Al-Arabi, Rawaby, Nakheel, Slite and Karam. (Getty Images)

Savola Group, Saudi Arabia's largest food products firm by market value, posted a 66.3 percent drop in second-quarter profit after a one-off gain from an asset sale bolstered profit a year earlier.

Profit from operations rose 67 percent and Chief Executive Sami Baroum promised stronger growth in sales and operating profit in the third quarter, according to a company statement.

Islam's fasting month of Ramadan, when demand on foods across the region rises, falls in September this year.

Savola made a net profit of 257.7 million riyals ($68.7 million) in the second quarter compared with 763.8 million riyals in the year-earlier period, Savola said in a statement.

Savola's earnings were in line with analysts' forecasts which ranged from 250.4 million riyals to 278.9 million riyals in a survey conducted by newswire Reuters last month.

The company's profit had fallen in the third and fourth quarters compared with the year-earlier period partly due to lower margins in its home market.

Operating profit rose 67 percent to 272 million riyals in the three months to June 30.

"This high increase... is due to an improvement the group's performance and the expansions of activities it has implemented both within and outside the kingdom," it said. (Reuters)

Print | Email | Discuss this article |

USER COMMENTS (0 COMMENTS)

POST A COMMENT

CLICK HERE TO POST A COMMENT

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.