Sahara International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) said its net profit fell 61% in the first quarter of 2024, driven by a drop in product selling prices and volumes.

Net profit reached 181.5 million Saudi riyals ($48.39 million) in Q1 2024, compared to SAR 470.3 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Sunday.

Revenue fell 8% year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 1.92 billion in the first quarter despite an increase in feedstock prices such as natural gas and ethane due to Al Waha Petrochemical Company's periodic turnaround maintenance activities.

However, Q1 2024 net profit jumped by 14% from SAR 158.7 million in Q4 2023, mainly due to a decrease in general and administrative costs and a lower cost of production of Al Waha Petrochemical Company.

The company unveiled the scheduled periodic turnaround maintenance of three affiliated companies for one month.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@laeg.com)