Sabic Q1 Net Falls 23%

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) has posted a net profit of 832 million riyals ($221.9 million) in the first quarter of 1998, down 23% from a year earlier. The fall is attributed to lower petrochemical demand in Southeast Asia and a drop in prices in some products. Sabic sold 4.6 million tonnes of petrochemical products in the first three months of 1998, up from 4.4 million tonnes in the same period in 1997. Sabic is 70% owned by the Saudi government and accounts for around 5% of world petrochemical products sales.