Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia-based Umm Al Qura Cement Company (UACC) on Tuesday reported an 84.58% year-on-year drop in profits during the full year 2018.

UACC’s profits after calculating Zakat and Tax amounted to SAR 10.13 million ($2.70 million) last year, down from SAR 65.7 million ($17.52 million) in 2017, according to a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

The Saudi cement producer attributed 2018 profit decline to a rise in general and administrative expenses, financing costs, coupled with lower selling and marketing expenses.

UACC’s profits plunged 89.5% year-on-year to SAR 3.69 million during the fourth quarter of 2018, versus SAR 35.11 million in Q4-17, according to data compiled by Mubasher.