Saudi Arabia's Savola Group expects third-quarter earnings to decline against last year despite posting a 13.6 percent rise in second-quarter net profit thanks to increased market share in the kingdom's retail sector.

The food company said in a bourse statement on Wednesday that net profit for the next quarter is expected to come in at 370 million riyals ($98.7 million), against the 405.2 million riyals it made in the three months to Sept. 30 last year.

The company also posted second-quarter earnings, with net profit beating its own expectations for the quarter and tallying with forecasts of the majority of analysts polled by Reuters.

Savola made a net profit of 387.8 million riyals for the three months to June 30, against 341.3 million riyals in the same period last year.

Four analysts polled by Reuters had forecast between 383 million and 395 million riyals, while the company said its internal forecast was 365 million riyals.

Savola attributed the uplift from last year's second quarter to its greater market share in the retail sector and "sustained growth in the edible oil segment", a bourse statement said.

Savola also proposed a second-quarter dividend of 0.5 riyals per share, a separate bourse filing said. This is higher than the 0.3 riyals it proposed for the same quarter of 2012. – Reuters