Saudi- Almarai posts SR242m profit in Q1 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Almarai Company (Almarai) has announced its interim consolidated financial results for the period ended March 31, 2012.

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2012, Almarai has generated a consolidated net profit of SR242.1 million, an increase of 2.9 percent compared to the same period last year (SR235.2 million) and an decrease of 15.2 percent compared to Q4 2011 (SR285.5 million).

Gross profit for Q1 amounted to SR707.3 million, an increase of 11.5 percent compared to the same period last year (SR634.2 million).

Operating profit for Q1 amounted to SR292.5 million, an increase of 0.3 percent compared to the same period last year (SR291.5 million).

Earnings per share (EPS) for Q1 was SR1.05 compared to SR1.02 for the prior year.

Sales for Q1 amounted to SR2,040.3 million, an increase of 17.0 percent compared to the same period last year (SR1,743.6 million).

The reason for a lower net profit compared with the previous quarter is the consumption seasonality and the continued impact of higher commodity prices.

The higher sales revenue growth of 17 percent on a year-on-year basis is driven by the continued expansion of its distribution network across the GCC. In particular, this was driven by bakery growth in the Gulf countries and poultry expansion in the Kingdom. However, this also resulted in higher selling and distribution costs.