Dar Al Arkan, one of Saudi Arabia's largest property developers, has reported a 26.3 per cent fall in its fourth-quarter net profit, missing analyst forecasts on lower income from financial instruments.

Arkan made a net profit of SR115.6 million ($30.8 million) in the three months to December 31, down from SR156.8 million ($42 million) in the same period a year earlier, it said in a statement.

The company attributed the fall in net profit to lower non-operating income from a swap arrangement, for which it had booked profits in the corresponding year-earlier period, plus higher operating expenses and finance charges.

Clarifying the position of the swap arrangement in a statement to Reuters, chief financial officer Mika Toivola said the fall in income stemmed from the fact no swap was in place in the last quarter, having been cancelled in 2013.

Analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast Dar Al Arkan would make a quarterly net profit of SR139.8 million ($37.2 million).

The company's 2014 annual profit was SR574.7 million ($153 million) compared with a net profit of SR681.5 million ($181.4 million) the year before.

In October, chairman Yousef Al Shelash told Reuters his company planned to spend over SR1 billion ($266 million) on projects in 2015 and aimed for 10 per cent growth of its business that year.-Reuters