| Kippreport.com

Saudi’s Dar al-Arkan second quarter net profit up 11 percent

July 8, 2012 9:48 by Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s Dar al-Arkan, the kingdom’s largest property developer, said its second-quarter net profit rose 11 percent but still missed analyst expectations.

The firm made a net profit of 331 million riyals ($88 million) in the three months ending June 30, compared with 298 million riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement on Saturday.

“The increase in net income for the six month period and the second quarter this year compared… is primarily due to the increase in real estate sales, which is attributable to the demand increase on the company’s products,” the statement said.

A group of six analysts had forecast that Dar would achieve a net profit averaging 424 million riyals.

Operational profit increased 11.8 percent in the second-quarter to 341.7 million riyals, compared with 305 in the same period a year earlier, it said.

The kingdom’s real estate sector is characterised by very strong demand for housing and was given a further boost in early July when the government said it had approved a mortgage law that will regulate lending to house buyers.

Dar said in May it would book gains from a 741.7 million riyal ($198 million)-land sale in its second-quarter results.

Tags: Dar al-Arkan, net income tax, real estate sales, Saudi Arabia, second quarter net profit