Northern Region Cement profit drops 61.6%

Northern Region Cement Co reported a 61.6 per cent YoY decline in profits for the first quarter of this year, the Saudi-based cement producer said in a bourse filing on Wednesday.

Profits reached SAR16.48m (US$4.4m) in 1Q17, down from SAR42.9m in the comparative period of the previous year. The company attributed the drop in profit to lower volumes and selling prices, as well as higher competition.

Total sales contracted by 44.92 per cent to SAR127.3m in the quarter under review compared to SAR231.4m a year earlier.