RIYADH: The retail sector in Saudi Arabia is projected to have experienced robust net profit growth in the fourth quarter of 2023, driven by strong sales, according to Al Rajhi Capital. In its latest report covering earnings previews for leading firms in Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh-based investment advisory service provider anticipates there was a 44.3 percent year-on-year increase in the fourth-quarter net profit of supermarket chain BinDawood Holding, reaching SR85 million ($22.66 million). The financial services firm added that this substantial increase in the net profit of BinDawood Holding is attributed to a surge in sales from its Harmain stores. It forecasts that Leejam Sports Co., another key player in the Kingdom’s retail sector, is expected to have achieved a net profit of SR124 million in the last three months of 2023, indicating a 15.3 percent increase compared to the preceding year. The report projects that the net profit of Abdullah Al-Othaim Markets, another prominent entity in the Kingdom’s retail sector, is expected to have experienced a marginal 0.8 percent year-on-year decline in the fourth quarter, reaching SR170 million. The investment advisory firm also noted that the revenue of energy firms in the Kingdom was likely to have fallen in the last quarter of 2023, with Saudi Aramco expected to report a net profit of SR113 billion in the period, reflecting a 9.8 percent year-on-year drop. The projection attributes the decline to the crude production cuts implemented by Saudi Arabia, in alignment with the decision of the Organization of the Petroleum Production Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+. In an effort to maintain market stability, Saudi Arabia reduced oil output by 500,000 barrels per day from April 2023, a measure that has been extended until the end of December 2024. The Kingdom also committed to an additional oil output cut of 1 million bpd in July, which continued until the end of December 2023. On the other hand, ADES Holding, which went public in 2023, is expected to report a net profit of SR1.29 billion in the fourth quarter, compared to the same period of the previous year. However, Al Rajhi Capital pointed out that the net profit of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. is anticipated to have declined by 24.6 percent year-on-year over the final three months of 2023, reaching SR704 million. On a positive note, the projections suggest that SABIC’s net profit will have experienced a 31.3 percent increase in the fourth quarter compared to the previous three months. Saudi International Petrochemical Co., also known as Sipchem, is expected to register a significant decrease in net profit, with a decline of 52.1 percent to SR229 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year. Additionally, several prominent names in the Saudi cement sector are anticipated to have seen a decline in net profit during the same period. Al Rajhi Capital predicts there was a significant drop in the net profit of Arabian Cement Co. by 49.9 percent to SR18 million. Similarly, Yamama Cement Co.’s net profit is expected to have declined by 40.4 percent to SR80 million by end of 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Saudi Telecom Co.’s net profit is anticipated to have stood at SR2.69 billion, reflecting a 2.4 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2022 and a 36.9 percent decline from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Mobily’s net profit report is expected to show an increase of 0.4 percent to SR608 million during the last three months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. In the food and agriculture sector, National Agricultural Development Co.’s net profit is projected to have risen by 201.8 percent year-on-year to SR76 million, and Savola Group’s net profit is anticipated to have surged 88.2 percent, reaching SR88.2 million.