Construction firms’ profits down 39% to SR528m in 9 months

Net profits of the listed construction and building firms dropped by 39 percent to reach SR528 million in the first nine months of the current year compared to SR871 million in the same period last year, according to a financial report.
Meanwhile, profits of the construction firms registered a sharp drop in the Q3 of the current year to SR62.5 million compared to SR320.2 million in Q3, 2013, or a decline of 80.4 percent.
Similarly, the profits dropped by 56 percent in Q3 compared to profits of Q2, which stood at SR143.7 million, according to a report in Al-Hayat daily.
The construction sector is composed of 16 firms whose market capitalization stands at SR30.3 billion, or 1.6 percent of the Saudi capital market. Their capitals stand at SR9.01 billion, the report said.
Performance of the listed construction firms varied in the last nine months of the year where 12 companies registered net profits of SR1.15 billion whereas the remaining four companies sustained losses worth SR620 million, the report added.
Saudi Ceramic Company was the biggest profit maker as its profits raised by 6 percent to SR250.3 million in the last nine months compared to SR236.2 million in the same period last year.
The profits growth was attributed to cut in zakat and financing expenses and increase in other revenues, the report said. Its profits in Q3 stood at SR78.88 million compared to SR71.8 million in Q3, 2013, or an increase of 10 percent.
Zamil Industrial Investment Company was the second biggest profit maker among the construction companies in the last nine months whose profits rose by 12 percent to SR195.4 million compared to SR175.24 million in the same period last year.
The company attributed profit increase to the improvement of operating profit margins, notably in air-conditioning and steel sectors. In Q3 alone, the company registered net profits of SR56.4 million compared to SR49 million in Q3, 2013, or an increase of 15.2 percent, the report said.
Bawan Company came in the third rank to have realized the highest profits in the last nine months at SR139.2 million compared to SR 129.2 million, or an increase of 8 percent. Its profits in Q3, 2014, rose by 1 percent to SR45.4 million compared to SR 44.97 million in Q3, 2013. The company attributed the profit growth to the increased sales and drop in other expenses, the report said.