JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu National Petrochemical Co. (Yansab) reported a 39.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, beating analysts’ forecasts as productivity and sales increased from a year earlier.

The firm, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), made a net profit of SR617.8 million ($164.6 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, up from SR442.2 million in the same period of 2013, a statement to the Saudi bourse said.

Analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast Yansab would make a quarterly profit of SR558.3 million.

The company said the profit rise was due higher production and sales compared to a year earlier when there was a temporary plant shutdown.

Yansab’s 2014 net profit was SR2.48 billion, down from SR2.64 billion in 2013, a drop it attributed to lower sales prices for some products as well as higher costs.