SAUDI ARABIA: Arabian Cement Co net rises 48% despite gross falL

Arabian Cement Company said net profits last year rose by almost half against 2009 despite a fall in gross profits, as higher sales costs met with lower volumes in an increasingly saturated market.

The Jeddah-based firm said pre-tax takings reached SAR 318.9 million, down 18.3% from SAR 390.2 million the previous year, a slide the company attributes to higher costs against the amount being produced. The company has halted certain production lines for maintenance work and this has driven up expenses on inventory costs and fixed costs.

But net profits soared from SAR 172 million to SAR 255.4 million, or 48.5%, due to a decline in “allocations that are configured for what has been allocated in the past year”, from SAR 147 million allocations in 2009 to SAR 25 million.

Operating profits rose 18% to SAR 288 million.