Riyadh – Mubasher: The net profit of Astra Industrial Group surged by 282.77% year-on-year (YoY) during the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, standing at SAR 34 million from SAR 8.9 million in Q1-19.

The growth in earnings was driven by higher sales in the pharmaceuticals and speciality chemicals sectors, coupled with lower financing costs in all sectors and a non-recurring reversal of provision for impairment of a financial assets expense in power and steel sector, according to a bourse statement on Sunday.

Sales for the period grew by 8.36% YoY to SAR 509.5 million, compared to SAR 470.1 million.

Moreover, the group recorded higher other expenses in two sectors, along with another rise in selling and marketing expenses in all sectors.

On a quarterly basis, the net profits rose by 73.6% after registering SAR 19.6 million in Q4-19.

It is noteworthy that in 2019, the company logged a net profit after zakat and tax of SAR 29.7 million when compared to SAR 22.47 million in the previous year, up by 32.1% annually.