UNITED Electronics Company (eXtra) posted an 10.1 percent increase in interim net profits in the first three months ending March 31, 2013 at SR26.2 million, compared to SR23.8 million in the same period of 2012. Total interim sales for the first quarter of 2013 reached SR723 million, compared to SR626 million for the three months ending March 31, 2012, an increase of 15.5 percent. The increases in year-on-year interim net profit and interim sales in the first quarter of 2013 were due to the increase in all categories sales, the same stores positive growth, coupled with the increase in the number of the stores from 25 to 32, including the opening of the company's first international stores, located in Bahrain and Oman. Interim earnings per share (EPS) for the three months ended March 31, 2013 were SR1.1, compared to SR0.99 for the same period of last year. “eXtra has begun 2013 much as we ended 2012: by reporting strong performance across all of our operations,” said Abdullah Abdulatif Al Fozan, Chairman, United Electronics Company (eXtra). “Our ambitious branch expansion strategy continues to deliver significant benefits, while our ever-expanding product and service offering ensures eXtra remains the preferred choice for our millions of customers across the Kingdom.” eXtra 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 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In both 2010 and 2011, eXtra was cited by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) 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. — SG
