MEPCO turns to SAR 44.6 mln loss in 9M 2023; Q3 at SAR 17.8 mln

Middle East Paper Co. (MEPCO) reported a net loss of SAR 44.6 million for 9M 2023, against a net profit of SAR 244.9 million a year earlier.

This was attributed to a 33% drop in revenues due to lower selling prices for all of the company’s products as a result of the global decrease in the prices of packaging paper products.

In addition, the cost of sales increased due to higher maintenance costs, despite savings in raw material costs. As a result, gross profit fell by SAR 344 million.

Selling and distribution expenses declined during the nine-month period by 29% due to a reduction in shipping costs, while general and administrative expenses rose by SAR 9 million, mainly due to a SAR 5 million provision for fines.

Provisions for financial assets also fell by SAR 10 million in the first nine months of the year, mainly due to better collections.

Other revenues reached SAR 11 million in 9M 2023, compared to other expenses of SAR 14 million in the same period last year. This is due to foreign exchange gains and the recovery of insurance claims.

The company’s financing costs increased by SAR 8 million on the additional working capital loan. Meanwhile, zakat declined by SAR 10 million due to incurring losses.

The company incurred a net loss of SAR 17.85 million in Q3 2023, compared to a net profit of SAR 53.93 million in Q3 2022.

Compared to the previous quarter, MEPCO narrowed its net losses from SAR 20.17 million.

Shareholders’ equity, after excluding minority interest, fell to SAR 1.108 billion as of Sept. 30, 2023, from SAR 1.176 billion in the year-earlier period.

Attached Documents

View more financial results