Riyadh – Mubasher: Al Hammadi Company for Development and Investment reported a 21.7% year-on-year profit decline in the first quarter of 2019.

Al Hammadi’s net profits, after zakat and taxes, logged SAR 24.17 million ($6.454 million) in Q1-19, compared to SAR 30.88 million ($8.246 million) in the prior-year period, according to a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on Sunday.

The company ascribed the profit drop to the growth in operating expenses and depreciation expenses related to Nuzha hospital which was inaugurated in February 2018, along with higher financing costs related to the operations of the company and its subsidiary.

Quarter-on-quarter, Al Hammadi’s net profits surged by 36.6% from SAR 17.7 million in Q4-18.

In addition, the Saudi firm’s revenues grew by 4.1% to SAR 229.68 million in the first three months of 2019, compared to SAR 220.67 million in the year-ago period.

For the full-year 2018, the company’s profits retreated 16.8%, logging SAR 89.81 million from SAR 107.96 million in 2017.