DUBAI: Dar Al-Arkan, one of Saudi Arabia's largest property developers, reported a 26.3 percent fall in fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday, missing analyst forecasts after it made losses on financial investments and suffered higher expenses.

Al-Arkan made a net profit of SR115.6 million ($30.8 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, up from SR156.8 million in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.

The company attributed the fall in net profit to losses in financial investments, plus higher operating expenses and finance charges.

Analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast Dar Al-Arkan would make a quarterly net profit of SR139.8 million.

The company's 2014 annual profit was SR574.7 million.

This compares with a net profit of SR681.5 million in 2013.