Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), one of the world's largest petrochemicals groups, reported a 29.4 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit on Sunday.

Sabic made a net profit of SR3.08 billion ($821 million) in the three months to December 31, down from SR4.36 billion in the year-earlier period, the company said in a bourse statement.

Analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast Sabic would make a quarterly profit of SR4.18 billion.-Reuters