Leading tissue paper manufacturer Saudi Paper Manufacturing Company (SPM) has reported a 35.7% slide in net profit in the first quarter (Q1) this year to 8.55 million riyals as compared to 13.3 million riyals in the year-earlier period.
The Dammam-headquartered company cited financial expenses amounting to 4.4 million riyals as the cause for the decrease in net profit.
The company’s Q1 revenue increased 11.6% to 217.28 million riyals, as compared to 194.7 million riyals in the prior fiscal year.
The company indicated a noticeable increase in sales of paper rolls and related products, which resulted in an increase in total sales in the first quarter by 11.6%, compared to the year-earlier period, a 7.6% growth in gross profit, and an uptick in selling and distribution expenses by 2.4%.
SPM stated that it was keen to deplete the stock of relatively high-cost raw materials during the first quarter, yet it succeeded in maintaining profit margins.
Among the reasons that impacted the net profit was an increase in the provision for impairment of trade receivables during the current quarter by 1.1 million riyals, and an increase in the provision for zakat by 4,38,000 riyals.
