Net profits climbed to SR27.4 million ($7.3 million) compared to a net loss of 200,000 riyals in the corresponding three-month period in 2010, Maaden said in a statement on the Saudi stock exchange.

Its shares were down about 2 percent to SR24.5, according to the Saudi exchange's website.

The state-run firm, which was set up in 1997, has been expanding its operations to also include phosphate and bauxite mining.

Gold prices have been climbing sharply over the past year, and closed up $35 per ounce, or at $1,669.60 an ounce in New York on Monday.