Saudi Electricity Q3 profit up 32pc
Riyadh, October 16, 2012
Saudi Electricity Company posted a 32 percent rise in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, beating analyst forecasts.
The utility attributed the net income of 2.88 billion riyals ($768 million) to higher energy sales and limits on the sales tariff in a bourse statement.
The performance also marked a strong rise in profits from the previous quarter in a sector with strong seasonal variation.
Four analysts polled by Reuters forecast the company would earn, on average, 2.27 billion riyals in the three months to September 30.
The partly state-owned monopoly holder is working to restructure its operations pending further privatisation of its operating units.
Its results are highly seasonal due to the wide variation between summer and winter electricity demand in the sweltering desert kingdom.- Reuters
