Saudi dairy firm Almarai Q2 profit rises 4.9%

Saudi Arabian dairy company Almarai said on Sunday its second-quarter net profit rose 4.9 percent to 398.2 million riyals ($106.2m), narrowly missing analyst forecasts.

The company, the largest dairy producer in the Gulf, attributed the rise in net income to continued growth in its core business, which also includes juice and bakery products.

Nine analysts polled by Reuters had forecast on average that Almarai would record net profit of 403m riyals in the quarter.