Saudi Sabic's fourth-quarter sales rise 29%

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), which reported forecast-beating net profit for the fourth quarter, increased its sales for the period by 29.3 per cent while its costs rose 3.7 per cent.

Sabic's sales netted SR31.9 billion (Dh31.23bn) in the three months to end-December, the highest quarterly sales figure since the third quarter of 2008, up from SR24.7bn in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to detailed financial statements published on Friday.

The state-controlled firm's costs rose to SR21.9bn in the fourth quarter, up from SR21.1bn a year earlier, the data showed.

Sabic's fourth-quarter profit rose 15-fold to its highest levels in five quarters. The results marked a recovery from 2008, when the global economic downturn dented the chemical maker's margins, forcing it to shut some plants and cut costs.

For all of 2009, Sabic's sales stood at SR103.1bn, their lowest level since 2006 and down 31.6 per cent from 2008.

Costs in 2009 amounted to SR74.6bn, their lowest since 2006 and 28.9 per cent down from 2008.

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