Saudi's Safco posts 25% rise in Q4 net profit

Saudi Arabian Fertilisers Co (Safco) reported a 25 percent higher fourth-quarter net profit of SR1.27bn ($338.7m) on Wednesday, citing higher sale prices and volumes. The result beat expectations for the affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), with five analysts polled by Reuters anticipating on average a net profit of SR1.14bn. The company's performance compared to the SR1.03bn it recorded in the fourth quarter of 2010 and a 5 percent increase over the SR1.21bn of profit in the third quarter of 2011. "The rise in the net profit for the fourth quarter ... from the same quarter of 2010 was due to an increase in international prices of the company's products, and the rise compared to the previous quarter was due to higher sale volumes," Safco said in a statement posted on the bourse website. The company had a profit-per-share of 16.4 riyals over the 12 months of 2011, compared to 12.9 riyals the previous year, it said. The company's gross profit for the fourth quarter was SR1.13bn, compared to SR918m in the fourth quarter of 2010.