Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world's biggest petrochemical companies, reported a 62% drop in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, which the company partially attributed to a decline in revenue.

SABIC reported net profit of 250 million riyals ($66.66 million) for the three months to March 31, down from 660 million riyals in the prior year period, and missed a mean estimate of 440 million riyals, based on LSEG data.

"The decrease in net profit is attributed to lower revenues, lower results from associates and joint ventures in addition, to losses from discontinued operations," SABIC said.

The company reported quarterly revenues of 32.7 billion riyals, down 10.3% year on year, which it said was due to a decline in the average selling prices by 3% and reduction in sales quantities by 7%.

SABIC made a net loss of 2.77 billion riyals in 2023, citing net losses due to discontinued operations. ($1 = 3.7504 riyals)

(Reporting by Pesha Magid and Rachna Uppal. Editing by Jane Merriman)