Saudi Cement Company, the country's second-largest producer of the building material, said the fourth-quarter profit fell 21 per cent to Sr131.7 million ($35.12 million) after a government ban on exports.

Saudi Arabia introduced the ban on cement exports in June to ease supply bottlenecks amid soaring demand across the region.

'The main reason for the decline is the ban on cement exports,' it said in a statement on the bourse website.

Analysts' forecast of the producer's fourth-quarter earnings ranged from SR138-162.6 million, according to a Reuters survey last month.

Yamama Cement and Tabuk Cement both posted profit declines on Saturday also citing the ban for lower sales.-Reuters