Almarai's Q3 Net Profit Rises 0.7% to $165M on 11.4% Sales Growth

Almarai raised third-quarter net profit 0.7% year on year to $165 million (SAR 617.8 million), as sales growth across its markets and product categories outweighed heavier shipping and distribution costs, the Saudi food and dairy group said in a bourse filing on Sunday.

Revenue for the quarter climbed 11.4% to $1.65 billion (SAR 6.18 billion), with the increase spread across markets, product lines and sales channels. Almarai pointed to an improved revenue mix as the reason profit moved higher, but said that benefit was largely cancelled out by higher costs of shipping dairy feed and by distribution expenses that rose on elevated energy prices.

Poultry volumes and Egyptian dairy lift sales

Higher poultry sales volumes and stronger dairy sales in Egypt fed the revenue advance, alongside inorganic growth from the acquisition of a water business.

The gap between the two lines was wide. Sales expanded at more than 11%, while net income grew by less than a single percentage point, leaving the quarter's profitability shaped by input and logistics costs rather than by demand.

Almarai shares were up 3.62% at $11.6 (SAR 43.5) around 10:50 a.m. AST Arabia on Sunday.

Nine-month profit edges lower

For the first nine months of 2026, revenue reached $4.87 billion (SAR 18.22 billion), up 9.7% from $4.4 billion (SAR 16.6 billion) in the same stretch a year earlier. Net profit attributable to shareholders slipped 0.3% to $531.6 million (SAR 1.99 billion).

Operating profit rose 0.9% to $659.8 million (SAR 2.47 billion), and gross profit increased 5.7% to $1.48 billion (SAR 5.53 billion).

The nine-month picture repeats the quarterly pattern at a larger scale: revenue grew close to 10% while earnings attributable to shareholders ended marginally below the prior year, and gross profit outran operating profit.

Supply chain and a change at the finance desk

Almarai said its supply chain remained resilient and capable of keeping products available as operating conditions shift. The company said it is watching regional developments closely and managing supply chain and operational risks, including by holding inventory buffers where those are appropriate.

Ikram Ulhaque became chief financial officer on July 1, succeeding Danko Maras, who stepped down after six years in the role. Ulhaque has spent 20 years at Almarai and was most recently head of finance.

Almarai placed 46th in a 2026 ranking of the region's 100 most valuable companies.