RIYADH: Nahdi Medical Co., the operator of one of the largest pharmacy chains in Saudi Arabia, caught the market by surprise in in its first annual results post-listing.

The firm recently made a strong debut on the Kingdom’s stock exchange with an initial public offering price of SR131, raising $1.36 billion in the biggest Saudi IPO since oil giant Aramco. 

On Monday it reported that its profits fall by 4.3 percent last year.

Profits dropped to SR813 million ($217 million) from SR849 million a year earlier, according to a bourse filing.

The Jeddah-based operator attributed the results to lower revenue, which declined by 6.7 percent to SR8.1 billion during the year.

“The impact of the decline in revenue was partially offset by the favorable product mix, and a reversal of inventory provision for corona-related items,” Nahdi said.

Its shares were trading at SR158 on Monday, implying a market valuation as high as SR20.5 billion.