Saudi Arabian dairy and food producer Almarai Company has posted an 8.7 per cent year-on-year rise in its second quarter net profit, the firm said in a bourse statement on Saturday.

Almarai made SR379.5 million ($101.2 million) in the three months ending June 30, compared with SR349.3 million in the same period a year earlier.

Almarai pointed out that the rise in profit was due to increased sales in all sectors as well as fully consolidating International Dairy & Juice, in which Almarai now holds a majority stake. "Sales have jumped by SR164.6 million as a result of this first time consolidation," it said.

Operational profit for the second quarter increased by 7 per cent to SR434.6 million compared with SR405.8 million in the same period a year earlier.

Almarai raised SR1 billion through its first sukuk (Islamic bond) in March, which it said was 4.7 times oversubscribed.

In May the dairy firm's board approved a SR15.7 billion, five-year investment plan, that will draw on finance from bank loans and Islamic bonds.

The money will replace the company's existing investments base and fund expansion between 2013 to 1017 of its operations in farming, manufacturing, distributio nand logistics, it said.

Almarai has been keen to expand its footprint outside its core presence in the Gulf region. In December it acquired Fondomonte S.A., which owns and operates firms in Argentina, to secure feed for its dairy herd and poultry business.-Reuters