Saudi Arabia's Yamama Cement posted a 10 per cent increase in its fourth quarter net profits, the company said in a bourse statement on Saturday.

Yamama made SR160 million ($42.7 million) in the three months ending December, compared to SR145 million in the same period a year earlier, the statement said. The operating profit for the fourth quarter increased by 11 per cent to SR166 million.

Saudi Cement companies are still faced with an export ban imposed in 2008 after cement prices skyrocketed as firms were seeking more lucrative offers abroad, leading to a shortage of cement in the local market.-Reuters