Petrochemicals, metals and fertiliser company Industries Qatar (IQ) posted a 25 per cent drop in third-quarter net profit on Thursday but beat analysts' forecasts.

The Middle East's second-biggest petrochemicals company by market value reported a net profit of QR1.41 billion ($387 million) for the three months to September 30, down from QR1.88 billion ($516 million) a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations based on its financial statements.

The firm made a nine-month profit of QR3.83 billion ($1.05 billion), down from QR4.72 billion ($1.29 billion) in the year-earlier period, it said in a bourse statement.

Three analysts polled by Reuters had forecast on average the firm would make a quarterly net profit of QR1.13 billion ($310 million). - Reuters