Riyadh – Mubasher: Umm Al Qura Cement Company (UACC) on Tuesday posted a 97.6% drop in profits of the second quarter of 2018, compared to the year-ago period.

UACC’s profits slumped to SAR 199,600 during Q2-18, from SAR 8.4 million in Q2-17, according to a bourse filing.

Quarter-on-quarter, profits retreated 98%, from SAR 10.2 million.

The cement maker attributed the large decrease in Q2-18 profits to a drop in sales’ value, added to higher marketing and selling expenses.

Between January and June, profits levelled down 59.3% to SAR 10.4 million from SAR 25.5 million in H1-17.

Sales fell 3.25% to SAR 87.7 million in the six-month period ended 30 June 2018, compared to SAR 90.6 million in the same period last year.

UACC's stock decreased 1.48% to end Tuesday at SAR 13.30.