Sabic has posted a net profit of SR3.67 billion ($977 million) for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to SR4.51 billion for the same quarter in 2016, reflecting a decrease of 18.63 per cent.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter amounted to SR12.61 billion compared to SR11.09 billion of the same quarter 2016, an increase of 13.71 per cent, and compared to the previous quarter SR14.03 billion, a decrease of 10.12 per cent.

Fourth quarter operating profit amounted to SR6.65 billion, as compared to SR6.16 billion for the same quarter last year, an increase of 7.95 per cent, and compared to operating profit of SR8.7 billion for the preceding quarter, a decrease of 23.56 per cent.

Net profit for 2017 was SR18.4 billion as compared to SR17.61 billion for 2016, an increase of 4.49 per cent. Gross profit was SR50.29 billion for 2017 compared to SR47.24 billion for 2016, an increase of 6.46 per cent.

Operating profit for the year was SR29.37 billion as compared with SR25.87 billion in 2016, an increase of 13.53 per cent. Share profit in 2017 was SR6.13 as against SR5.87 in 2016.

Yousef Al-Benyan, Sabic vice chairman and CEO attributed the decrease in the profit in the fourth quarter to a reduction in production volumes due to periodic maintenance of some Sabic plants aimed at enhancing the future reliability of these plants.

The decrease is attributed to a decline in Hadeed’s returns due to slow down in the construction sector. This sector is expected to pick up momentum this year because of the expected increase in governmental expenditure.

Al-Benyan expressed a positive outlook for the global economy in 2018 as the American and European markets expected to witness growth, along with stabile Chinese market. – TradeArabia News Service