The Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company (SAFCO) reported third quarter 2003 net profits of 112.5 million Saudi riyals ($30 million), up from SR 41.4 million for the same period in 2002.
Profits earned in the year to date totaled SR 247.7 million against SR 72.9 million in the same period last year, an increase of 239 percent.
Vice Chairman and CEO of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and Chairman of the Board of SAFCO, Mohamed Al-Mady attributed this rise in profits to the increase in prices for most of SAFCO's products.
Al-Mady added that the third quarter profits for 2003 were 125 percent higher than the previous quarter. This was due to a number of factors, including the completion of routine maintenance work, a production increase of 31 percent, and sales increase of 33 percent compared with the previous three months. He commented that construction work on the SAFCO 4 expansion project had started as planned, and that commercial production was scheduled to start in early 2006.
SAFCO is one of SABIC’s three fertilizer affiliates. SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use hydrocarbon gases released in the production of oil as raw material for the production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares, with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
