Saudi food company Almarai has reported a 29.2% increase in net profit to SAR369m ($98.2m) for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2012, compared to SAR285.5m ($76m) for the same period in the earlier year.
The gross profit for the period totaled SAR869.9m (231.6m), an increase of 20.2%, compared to SAR723.8m ($192.7m) for the corresponding period in 2011.
Almarai posted consolidated net profit of SAR1.4bn ($383.4m) for the twelve months ended 31 December 2012, a 26.4% increase compared to SAR1.13bn ($303.9m) for the earlier year.
The company noted that higher sales and profit growth for the fourth quarter can be attributed to strong performance from all products, especially poultry and bakery, as well as the continuation of IDJ consolidation in this quarter.
The profit growth in the quarter was negatively affected due to continued higher material costs and overhead growth due to expansion in new projects, but it was positively affected by capital gains realized on sale of assets.
