Saudi Cement , Saudi Arabia’s second-largest cement producer, said its first-quarter profit fell 12.3 per cent after a government ban on exports.

Saudi Cement made SR152 million ($40.5 million) in the three months to March 31 down from SR173.3 million riyals a year earlier, it said in a statement posted on the bourse's website.

'The decline ... is due to the ban on exports of cement and its derivatives,' the firm said.

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

Like other cement firms, Saudi Cement posted an increase in first-quarter earnings compared to the fourth-quarter of 2008. – Reuters