RIYADH: Sahara International Petrochemical Co, or Sipchem, posted a 162 percent surge in net profit for the first quarter of 2022. The company"s profit rose to SR1.08 billion ($288 million), from SR411.5 million for the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse filing. Sipchem attributed the results to revenue growth of 18 percent, a decline in finance costs, as well as an increase in share of profit from joint ventures.