MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world's largest petrochemicals groups, reported a 13.2% drop in first-quarter net profit, extending a profit slump but beating analysts' forecasts, reported ArabianBusiness.
SABIC made a net profit of 3.41 billion riyals (USD909.4 million) in the three months to Mar. 31, down from 3.93 billion riyals in the year-earlier period, the company said in a bourse statement.
Five analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast that SABIC would make a quarterly profit of 2.84 billion riyals.
SABIC, which is 70 percent state-owned, attributed the profit fall to lower average sales prices, noting that the net loss for the metals segment amounted to 725 million riyals. It said the cost of sales dropped during the period.
Lower oil prices have adversely affected SABIC's earnings, with the company's profits falling in the six preceding quarters, Reuters data shows.
The company's results are closely tied to oil prices and global economic growth because its products -- plastics, fertilisers and metals - are used extensively in construction, agriculture, industry and the manufacturing of consumer goods.
From the first quarter of 2016, SABIC's total annual costs before minority interests will rise by around 5%.
We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, Sabic modified its Wilton cracker in the UK to enable it to use ethane feedstock imported from the US. The company aimed to complete the project by 2016.
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the worldпїЅs top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
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