Saudi Arabia's Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (PetroRabigh) reported a wider net loss in the fourth-quarter on Thursday due to maintenance work at the complex for much of the period.

The firm, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, made a loss of SR1.01 billion  ($269.1 million) in the three months to December 31, it said in a bourse statement.

This compares with a net loss of SR198 million in the year-ago period.

PetroRabigh cited the plant maintenance shutdown as the reason for the wider loss without elaborating.

Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later.

The company had already disclosed though it was expecting earnings to drop by around SR1.1 billion due to a 50-day maintenance period at its complex, which was extended for some of its units.

PetroRabigh's earnings have been hit hard by falling product prices, like many petrochemical firms in the kingdom, as they are closely tied to slumping oil prices. Saudi producers have also benefited from subsidised energy and feedstock costs, so lower crude prices compress their margins.  - Reuters