Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden), the Gulf's largest miner, slumped to a fourth-quarter net loss as the firm was hit by lower prices for its petrochemical products and gold and lower sales of the precious metal.

The company reported on Tuesday a net loss of SR29.2 million ($7.8 million) in the three months to December 31, compared with a net profit of SR405.5 million in the corresponding period of 2012, according to a bourse filing.

Aljazeera Capital had forecast Ma'aden would record a net profit of SR90 million in the fourth quarter.

Ma'aden's full-year 2013 net profit jumped 54.2 per cent to SR1.68 billion, boosted by a significant one-off gain in its third-quarter earnings.-Reuters