Pandemic boost for ice cream sales at Saudi Arabia’s SADAFCO

Net profit dipped by 1.6 percent to SR260.9 million ($71 million) compared to a year earlier. (Supplied)

• The Jeddah-based dairy producer said the value of ice cream sales jumped 10 percent in the first quarter

DUBAI: Ice cream makes everything better as Saudi Dairy and Foodstuff (SADAFCO) first quarter results highlight.
The Jeddah-based dairy producer said the value of ice cream sales jumped 10 percent in the first quarter as the company emerged from a challenging year.
Tomato paste sales also performed well rising 15 percent, with milk sales up 2 percent, it said in a stock exchange filing.
Net profit dipped by 1.6 percent to SR260.9 million ($71 million) compared to a year earlier while revenues edged 2.4 percent higher to SR2.1 billion.
The company’s gross margin was steady at 33 percent and impairment losses fell as it improved its collection process.
SADAFCO said that work on a new ice cream facility is continuing and it aims to commence trial production at the facility by July.
The company has long been a market leader in the UHT (Long Life) Milk sector in the Kingdom — capturing half of that market and almost a third of the total drinking milk consumed.