Saudi food group Savola bounces back with rise in third-quarter profit

Saudi Arabia’s food group Savola earned 221.8 million riyals ($59.15 million) in net profit for the third-quarter, the company reported in a bourse filing on Monday (October 29).

This is a marked improvement from its loss of 50.7 million riyals in the same three-month period last year, and is also a reversal of its 22% drop in profit in the second-quarter.

The company attributes its positive performance to several factors, including higher sales and margins, higher share of profit from associates, and lower net finance cost due to the reduction in currency exchange losses.

Savola’s net profit for the nine months ending September 30 also substantially improved, from 5.6 million riyals in the same period last year to 338.3 million riyals in 2019.

Savola is involved in the food industry through its Savola Foods unit as well as financial investments in other companies. Savola Foods includes B2C brands Afia, Yudum, Al Tayeb, and Italiano.

The firm’s other investments in the food sector include a 34.52 per cent shareholding in Saudi F&B major Almarai and 51 per cent ownership of frozen foods manufacturer Al Kabeer Group.

($1 = 3.75 Saudi riyals)

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