Safco Q4 net profit drops 10%

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian Fertilizers Co. (SAFCO) posted a 10.3 percent decline in fourth-quarter net profits, missing analyst forecasts, due to lower Urea prices, the firm said in a bourse statement.
Safco, the affiliate of the world’s biggest petrochemical company by market value, Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC), made SR1.146 billion in the three months ending on Dec. 31 compared with SR1.277 billion in the same period a year earlier, it said.
Nine analysts polled by Reuters expected the firm to post on average a 3.4 percent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit.
“The decrease in the fourth quarter, 2012 compared to the same quarter last year is due to lower Urea prices,” Safco said.
Operating profit for the fourth quarter fell by 7 percent to SR1 billion from SR1.1 billion in the same period a year earlier.