The profits of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) declined on Sunday in the second quarter of the year, declining by more than 90 percent due to lower sales prices and higher expenses. Maaden said in a disclosure to the Saudi market that it recorded net profits of 350.9 million riyals ($93.53 million) in the second quarter, a 91.3 percent decrease from just over four billion riyals in the same period of the previous year. Refinitiv data indicate that this came below analysts’ estimates of a net profit of 577.6 million riyals in the second quarter. This was also a decrease of 16.3 percent from the company’s net profit in the first quarter, which amounted to 419.4 million riyals. The decrease in profits is due to a decrease in the average selling prices achieved for all products except gold, an increase in general and administrative expenses (including the provision for expected credit loss by 40 percent), an increase in exploration and technical services expenses by 116 percent, and an increase in the cost of financing by 86 percent due to the increase in interest rates and a decrease in net profits. The profit for joint projects belonging to Ma’aden Company is 59 percent. Ma’aden said in the disclosure that among the factors that contributed to the decrease was the increase in zakat and income tax expenses and the two percent concession fee, and this was mainly due to the one-time concession fee charged, which was partially offset by the decrease in zakat and income tax expenses as a result of the decrease in profitability.