Saudi Arabian food group "Savola" said yesterday net profits rose 60 percent to SR106 million ($28.3 million) in the first quarter of the year from SR66 million in the same period of 2004. A company statement posted on the Saudi stock market website said total sales rose 38 percent to SR1.54 billion. Savola, the main supplier of cooking oil in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said sales usually increase in the second half of the year which includes the holy month of Ramadan. Shares in Savola, one of the largest companies on the Arab world's biggest bourse, were up nearly six percent after the announcement, hitting SR920 at 1413 GMT in a rising market. Savola posted 2004 profits of more than SR500 million.
