Saudi retailer Fawaz Alhokair Q4 profit slumps

Saudi Arabian retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co missed analysts' estimates as it reported a 98 percent fall in fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday after its operations made losses and total group sales fell.

The company made a net profit of 3.17 million riyals ($845,626.48) in the three months to March 31, down from 201.74 million riyals in the year-earlier period, according to a bourse filing. Alhokair's financial year starts on April 1.

Three analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast Alhokair would make a quarterly profit of 160.16 million riyals.

Alhokair, which owns franchise rights for brands including Mango, Zara and Banana Republic in the Middle East, said its quarterly net profit from its domestic business was 92 million riyals, but its foreign operations made a loss of 89 million riyals.

Quarterly sales fell 3.2 percent year-on-year to 1.56 billion riyals.

Saudi retailers have struggled this year as a protracted slump in oil prices put government and consumer spending under pressure, while a two-month salary bump to government employees which boosted retail sales in early 2015 wasn't repeated.

Jarir Marketing, another large retailer in the kingdom, posted a 29.5 percent drop in first-quarter net profit on April 10, the same day as major food and dairy firm Almarai warned of challenging market conditions as it posted flat year-on-year net profit growth.

Alhokair's annual profit for the 12 months to March 31 was 615.8 million riyals, down 23 percent from a year earlier.

$1 = 3.7487 riyals