Saudi Arabian Fertilizers Company (Safco) posted a 33 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit after a rise in urea and ammonia prices.

Safco made 698 million riyals ($186.1 million) in the three months to end-March, up from 525 million riyals in the first quarter of 2009, the firm said in a statement on the bourse website on Saturday.

Seven banks surveyed by Reuters had expected net profit of 592.9 million riyals on average.-Reuters