Saudi- SABIC Q4 net profit rises 11.3% to SR 5.83 billion 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) has posted an 11.3 percent rise in fourth quarter net profits.

SABIC said it enjoyed stronger sales and higher prices in the fourth quarter than it had in the year-earlier period.

The net income of for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012 was SR 5.83 billion, compared to the net income of SR 5.24 billion for the same quarter in 2011, an increase of 11.3 percent, and compared to the net income for the third quarter of 2012 of SR 6.31 billion, a decrease of 7.6 percent. This is according to SABIC's announcement of its interim consolidated financial results for the period ended Dec. 31, 2012.

The other highlights of the results are as follows:

The gross profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012 amounted to SR 13.88 billion, compared to the same quarter in 2011 of SR 13.37 billion, an increase of 3.8 percent.

The income from operations for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012 amounted to SR 10.22 billion, compared to SR 9.51 billion for the same quarter in 2011, an increase of 7.5 percent.

The net income for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2012 amounts to SR 24.72 billion compared to the net income of SR 29.24 billion for the same period in the preceding year, a decrease of 15.5 percent.

The earnings per share for the twelve-month period ended Dec. 31, 2012 amounted to SR 8.24, compared to SR 9.75 for the same period in 2011.
The gross profit for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2012 was SR 54.31 billion, compared to SR 62.13 billion for the same period in 2011, a decrease of 12.6 percent.

The income from operations for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2012 was SR 40.94 billion, compared to SR 48.84 billion for the same period in 2011, a decrease of 16.2 percent.

The increase in net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012 compared to the same quarter in 2011 is attributable to higher sales volumes and sales prices for certain products.

The decrease in net income for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2012 compared to the same period in 2011 is due to higher cost of sales and lower sales prices for certain products, despite higher sales and production volumes and reduction in financial charges.

The decrease in net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012, compared to the third quarter is attributable to higher cost of sales, as well as lower other income related to the recording of polycarbonate licensing gains in the third quarter, despite improvement in sales prices of certain products.

Commenting on the financial results, Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan, chairman of SABIC and the Royal Commission of Jubail & Yanbu said: "SABIC continues to improve its operations and manufacturing processes, while maintaining the highest safety standards, with full commitment to sustainability."

He said SABIC will continue to excel in performance, grow its production capacities and seek to maintain its level of competitiveness despite the prevailing global economic conditions.

The board of directors of the company has approved the recommendations of its general assembly to distribute a cash dividend for the second half of 2012 amounting to SR 9 billion, at a rate of SR 3 per share.

An interim cash dividend amounting to SR 6 billion was distributed to the company's shareholders for the first half of 2012, bringing the total profit to shareholders to SR 15 billion for 2012, at the rate of SR 5 per share, representing 50 percent of face value of the shares.

Shareholders registered with the company on the day of the general assembly meeting, which is scheduled to be held in the second half of April 2013, will be eligible for the dividends of the second half of the year.