Dubai: Saudi Arabian food maker Savola Group, the country’s largest food products company, reported a 43.2 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit and cut its dividend on Thursday, citing higher operating expenses and financial charges.
Net profit in the three months to June 30 was 246.7 million riyals ($65.8 million) compared with 434.4 million riyals in the same period a year earlier.
Analysts at EFG Hermes and NCB Capital had forecast Savola would make a quarterly net profit of 324.4 million riyals and 262 million riyals respectively.
Savola said its board had recommended paying a cash dividend of 0.25 riyal per share for the second quarter, below the 0.5 riyal that it paid for the corresponding period of 2015. The company had also halved its dividend in the first quarter after reporting an 80.3 per cent slump in profit.
