LONDON: Ice cream sales helped to boost earnings at Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff (Sadafco) in the second-quarter as the food processor maintained its market share in the Kingdom.
Second-quarter net profit rose 7.9 percent to $18.7 million (SR70.2 million) compared with a year earlier, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
Food companies worldwide have had mixed fortunes this year as lockdowns helped to boost sales across many product lines while logistical problems hampered attempts to satisfy customer demand.
Sadafco said sales of both ice cream and consumer milk rose 2 percent over the quarter while tomato paste sales jumped by 15 percent. Its gross profit margins were broadly in line with a year earlier at 33 percent.
“Our performance this quarter and this period continues to strengthen over last year,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
However, it said that the tripling of value added tax (VAT) in the Kingdom had a significant impact on shopping basket cost.
Sadafco is expanding operations in Saudi Arabia with the construction of a new ice cream factory and the planned acquisition of Horizon Food Factory.
It currently operates two factories in Jeddah and another in Dammam.
