Saudi Arabia’s Sahara Q1 Net Profit Drops 20.3% On Lower Sales

Saudi Arabia’s Sahara Petrochemical, currently in talks with Sipchem over a possible merger, posted a 20.3 per cent drop in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday, citing lower sales for the decline.

The firm made a profit of 99.9 million riyals ($26.6 million) in the opening three months of 2014, compared with 125.4 million riyals in the same period last year, according to a bourse filing.

Sahara blamed the decline on lower sales, citing a planned shutdown of Al Waha plant as well as lower income from associates.

Sahara and Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) announced plans in December to merge in the first half of 2014 through a share swap agreement.