The decline was mostly due to the base year effect of COVID-19, it added, as well as VAT-related changes in purchases DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Almarai recorded a 22.5 percent decline in profit in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period last year, as the pandemic and value-added tax (VAT) weigh in on revenues. Its net profit stood at SR1.28 billion during the said period, compared to SR1.65 billion last year, the dairy giant said in a Tadawul filing. The decline was mostly due to the base year effect of COVID-19, it added, as well as VAT-related changes in purchases. Gross profit was down 10.1 percent due to adjustments made because of subsidy reduction.