Riyadh, Oct. 9 - Saudi Arabia's Almarai Co , the Gulf's largest dairy company by market value, said third-quarter profit surged 52 percent on higher sales to its sixth consecutive record, beating analysts' expectations.
Net income in the three months to Sept. 30 was 186.2 million riyals ($49.65 million), compared with 122.6 million riyals in the year-earlier period, Almarai said in a statement on the Saudi bourse Web site.
Sales surged 33.6 percent to 2.73 billion riyals, it said. Operating profit rose 44.5 percent to 558.3 million riyals.
Analysts' forecasts for third-quarter profit ranged from 171 million riyals to 174 million riyals, according to a Reuters survey last month.
Earnings per share in the nine months to Sept 30 rose to 4.35 riyals compared with 3.35 riyals in the year-earlier period.
Shares of Almarai have risen 17.3 percent this year, compared with a decline in the Saudi index, according to Reuters data.