Riyadh – Mubasher: Aldrees Petroleum and Transport Services Company recorded SAR 30.3 million in net profits after Zakat and tax during the first quarter (Q1) ended on 31 March 2020, up by 1.3% from SAR 29.9 million in the same period in 2019.

Year-on-year (YoY), sales amounted to SAR 1.4 billion in Q1-20 when compared to SAR 1.2 billion, posting a 12.1% annual rise, according to a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on Tuesday.

The growing earnings for the current quarter were helped by higher petrol division sales and increasing investment profits from a joint venture (JV) project, alongside lower marketing and Zakat expenses.

The rise in profit came despite the drop in the transport division sales and other income. Moreover, the company registered an increase in the general, administrative, and financial expenses and incurred unrealised losses from the revaluation of investment at the fair value (FV) through profit and loss.

Last year, the company's net profits jumped by around 336% to SAR 291.7 million, compared to SAR 66.9 million in 2018.