Saudi Electricity Q3 Net Profit Drops, Misses Analyst Forecast

Saudi Electricity Co (SEC), the Gulf’s largest utility firm, posted a 6.5 per cent drop in third-quarter net profit on Sunday.

It made SAR2.67 billion during the three months to Sept. 30, compared to SAR2.85 billion during the same period of the previous year, it said in a bourse statement.

HSBC had forecast SEC would make a quarterly net profit of SAR3.11 billion.

In a brief statement, SEC attributed the drop in profit to the implementation of an agreement for oil giant Saudi Aramco to use its transmission system in July 2014. It did not elaborate.

The utlity’s results are highly seasonal because of the big swing between power demand in winter and in summer, when high temperatures lead most homes and businesses to rely on extensive air conditioning.