Saudi retailer BinDawood profits drop 46% as pandemic hits sales

RIYADH: BinDawood Holding Co., a leading grocery retail operator in the Kingdom, suffered a 46 percent decline in net profit in 2021 citing pandemic restrictions.

The group reported a SR240 million ($64 million) profit, compared to SR447 million in the same period of 2020, it said in a filing.

Along with the profit drop, revenues dropped 15 percent to SR4.3 billion, down from SR5.1 billion a year earlier.

The company attributed the fall back to COVID-19 travel restrictions, coupled with a lack of promotions that weighed on sales.

“We are hoping for a more settled period now after a two-year disruption,” the company’s CEO, Ahmad BinDawood said, commenting on the results.

“If religious travelers return and we are allowed to undertake promotional campaigns as before, we expect our performance to improve given all the investment and forward planning we have undertaken.”

Following the announcement, BinDawood Holding confirmed its plans to distribute a cash dividend of SR0.65 per share for the second half of 2021.