UNITED Electronics Company (eXtra), Saudi Arabia's fastest-growing big box consumer electronics and home appliance retailer, announced Monday its initial financial results for the third quarter of 2012, demonstrating the ongoing success of the company's branch expansion strategy. For the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2012, eXtra reported that total sales reached an estimated SR2,051 million, up from SR1,738 million for the same period of 2011, an increase of 18 percent. Estimated total sales in the third quarter of 2012 reached SR699 million, compared with SR610 million for the same quarter of 2011, an increase of 14.5 percent. For the third quarter of 2012, eXtra reported an estimated net profit of SR28.4 million, compared to SR26.4 million for the same quarter in 2011, an increase of 7.5 percent. Net profit during the nine months of 2012 reached an estimated SR100.5 million, compared to SR90.9 million for the same period last year, an increase of 10.6 percent. Earnings per share were estimated at SR4.18 compared with SR3.79 in the periods covered. Abdullah Abdulatif Al Fozan, Chairman, eXtra, said: “The positive impact of our aggressive expansion strategy, which has seen eXtra's Kingdom-wide branch network grow by more than a third in just one year, continues to be reflected in our financial results. We have also increased our presence to 20 cities, with five new cities having eXtra stores within. Added to innovative marketing campaigns, unbeatable prices and an unrelenting focus on customer service, our proven business model has helped establish eXtra as the undisputed leader of the Kingdom's consumer electronics sector.” eXtra was recently voted by one of the Kingdom's leading economic newspapers as offering the “Best Retail Working Environment in the Kingdom.” The company was recently named as one of “The Top 200 Companies in the GCC” by Forbes Middle East, and also ranked as one of the Top 5 Services companies in Saudi Arabia. In both 2010 and 2011, eXtra was cited by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority as one of the Kingdom's fastest-growing companies. In addition, eXtra was also recently named as one of the Arabia 500 top companies in recognition of its exceptional growth and sustained commercial success. Currently, eXtra provides the over 10 million customers it serves annually with more than 12,000 world-leading products. The company ranks first in the Saudi consumer electronics sector in terms of the number of stores and products it offers. – SG-
