DUBAI: Saudi Arabia Fertilizers Co. (SAFCO) missed analysts' forecasts and extended its earnings slump, reporting a 51.5 percent decline in first-quarter net profit on Sunday.

SAFCO, a unit of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), made a net profit of SR286 million ($76.3 million) in the three months to Mar. 31, down from SR590 million in the year-earlier period, it said in a bourse statement.

The firm, which had reported declining profits in ten of the preceding 11 quarters according to Reuters data, was forecast by analysts to make SR314.6 million during the quarter.

SAFCO cited lower selling prices for the company's products for the first-quarter profit fall. An increase in quantities sold helped offset some of the impact, it added.

Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later. Like many petrochemical firms in the Kingdom, SAFCO's earnings have been hit hard by falling oil prices.