Taking a direct hit from the Covid restrictions, BinDawood, the Saudi supermarket retailer, has reported a 50 percent dip in net profit to $25.33 million for the second quarter of this fiscal.
The retail supermarket said net profit in the quarter ended June 30 was 95 million riyals ($25.33 million), compared with 185.4 million riyals in the same period last year.
“I believe a comparison of the financial performance of H1 2021 with H1 2020 is not very meaningful because of the extenuating circumstances and unprecedented disruption to business caused by the pandemic,” chief executive Ahmad BinDawood, said in a statement on Sunday.
The second quarter of last year “benefited enormously from pantry-buying in response to lockdowns and in the lead-up to the VAT [value-added tax] hike which came into effect from 1 July 2020.”