DUBAI: Almarai, the Gulf’s largest dairy company, reported a 14.7 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profit on Sunday, in line with analyst forecasts, as sales during the quarter accelerated.

Almarai made a profit of SR428 million ($114 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, up from SR373.3 million in the year-earlier period, according to a statement to Riyadh's bourse.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast on average that Almarai would make a quarterly profit of SR427.7 million.

The firm said fourth-quarter sales rose 10.7 percent as a result of continuous growth in the poultry, dairy and juices segment, which offset a decline in its bakery business.

Almarai last month proposed a cash dividend of SR1 per share for 2014, identical to that paid out for 2013, according to Thomson Reuters data.