Dubai: Saudi Cement reported a 32.8 per cent drop in fourth-quarter net profit on Sunday, missing estimates as sales fell and it booked an impairment for two kilns. The company, one of the kingdom’s largest cement producers by market value, made a net profit of 180 million riyals (Dh176 million, $48.03 million) in the three months to December 31, down from 268 million riyals in the corresponding period of 2014, it said in a bourse filing.
The average forecast of five analysts polled by Reuters was for a quarterly net profit of 228.4 million riyals. Saudi Cement attributed its net profit drop to lower sales and booking an impairment for two kilns at its Hofuf plant. It did not provide further details on its sales.
