Saudi Arabia Mining Co. (Ma’aden), Riyadh, returned to the black, reporting a net profit after Zakat and tax of SAR3.14 billion (approximately $836.2 million at current exchange rates) for the nine months to Sept. 30, 2021, versus a year-ago net loss of SAR0.78 billion, according to an Oct. 25 company filing to the Saudi stock exchange.
The company made a profit per share of SAR2.55 for the current reporting period against a SAR0.63 loss per share in the same period last year. Ma’aden said the prior-year results were impacted as the COVID-19 pandemic affected industrial output and economies.
Nine-month revenues jumped 40 percent to SAR18.25 billion, up from SAR13.03 billion a year ago.
Ma’aden cited higher average sales prices for all of its products except gold, as well as a higher share of the net profit of its joint ventures and increased income from other sources as behind the rebound. Lower costs also contributed.
However, the company noted that these increases were partially offset by lower fertilizer and ammonia sales volumes except for sales by the Mauritius-based fertilizer distribution group, Meridian, where sales volumes increased.
Ma’aden completed the acquisition of an 85 percent stake in Meridian in September 2019, marking its first international acquisition (GM Sept. 6, 2019). Meridian is providing the Saudi company with a network of operations across southern Africa from Malawi to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, as well as a 2019 distribution volume of approximately 500,000 mt/y of fertilizers and 3,000 staff (GM April 19, 2019).
For the third quarter, Ma’aden posted a big jump in net profit after Zakat and tax to SAR1.27 billion, up from the year-earlier SAR6.47 million. Quarterly revenues increased by 44 percent on the year, reaching SAR6.7 billion versus the year-ago SAR4.66 billion.