Saudi Arabia's Almarai, the biggest dairy producer in the Arabian Gulf region reported a 4.3 per cent drop in fourth-quarter net profit missing analysts' estimates as revenues fell on the back of declining sales in regional markets.
Almarai net profit fell to 513 million riyals ($136.8m) for the three month-period to end of December 2017 from 536m million riyals recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), where its shares are traded. The profit is 23.1 per cent lower than 667m riyals reported at the end of the third quarter last year. However the full-year 2017 net income climbed 1.6 per cent to 2.18 billion riyals from 2.14bn riyals at the end of 2016, according to the bourse filing.
Cairo-based investment bank EFG-Hermes had forecast Almarai fourth-quarter net profit at 613m riyals and its annual net income at 2.28bn riyals.
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“A decline of 2.6 per cent in revenue is mainly due to the loss of sales in the GCC [countries],” the company said in the bourse filing, adding that profits from its dairy and juice divisions also fell 11.9 per cent due to “adverse market conditions”.
Net income from the company's bakery segment slumped 17.1 per cent, as volume growth stalled across markets, while finance expenses increased 8.2 per cent due to overseas funding costs, which hurt profitability.
The company, which posted flat third quarter net profit in October had warned of continued weakness in the markets it operates as margins decline and competition rise. The company is trying to protect its balance sheet through stricter cost controls. Almarai had launched a productivity improvement and cost-cutting programme at the end of 2016 to reduce the cost base by 500m riyals over the next two years.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in October became the third largest shareholder of the Riyadh-based dairy farm operator with 163.2 million shares, or 16.3 per cent stake, according to an October regulatory filing that did not disclose the identity of the seller. Bloomberg had valued the stake at about 9bn riyals based on Almarai's share price at the time.
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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Manchester United v Liverpool
Premier League, kick off 7.30pm (UAE)
Company%20Profile
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If%20you%20go
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Januzaj's club record
Manchester United 50 appearances, 5 goals
Borussia Dortmund (loan) 6 appearances, 0 goals
Sunderland (loan) 25 appearances, 0 goals
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
