Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- The Saudi Research and Marketing Group has posted SR151.6 million profit for the first half of the current year, the group said yesterday.
The first half-yearly statement after the group went public showed an 80 percent increase in profits compared to SR84.4 million in the same period last year.
The rise in the net profit of the group was the result of increase in revenues thanks to the performance of the subsidiaries of the SRMG, a statement from the group said.
“These results emphasize the sustained growth of the companies under the group particularly the Madina Printing & Publishing Co. and Al-Khaleejiah Advertising and PR. It is also a pointer to the increasing operating profit of the SRMG subsidiaries,” said Prince Faisal Bin Salman, chairman of the SRMG board.
“This has been the realization of the Grace of the Almighty and the sincere hard work of the group’s staff in their discharge of their duties,” he added.
Prince Faisal also expressed his hope that the performance will continue throughout the current financial year.
The company floated 24 million shares, or 30 percent of its capital, worth SR800 million in an initial public offering in April. The flotation, which started April 8, was oversubscribed nearly four times.
The IPO saw as many as 1.6 million investors purchasing the company’s shares at the rate of SR46 per share.
SRMG posted a net profit of SR61.1 million in the first quarter of 2006 compared to SR27.8 million in the same period the previous year, a 120-percent increase.
The group’s subsidiaries have been registering excellent performance, particularly, Al-Madina Printing & Publishing Co., which posted a SR67 million net profit in the half year ending June 30, compared to SR37 million of the same period last year.
Al-Khaleejiah witnessed a sustained growth in its income and market share with net revenue of SR374 million in the half year ending June 30, a 17 percent increase from the same period last year.
The statement said the group promoted the activities of the Hala Printing Company and its investment in the United Company for Printing and Publishing in the United Arab Emirates in collaboration with the Emirates Printing, Publishing & Distribution Co.
SRMG posted a record net profit of SR181.4 million last year, which was the best in the company’s history. There was a 13-percent increase in sales compared to 2004 when total sales were SR1.063 billion.