RIYADH: Saudi Electricity Co. has reported a slight drop in its first-half profit to SR7 billion ($1.9 billion), dragging its share price lower.

Profits went down 7 percent from SR7.5 billion in the same period last year, despite a 3 percent jump in sales, the state-owned utility giant said in a filing.

In response to the profit decline, the company’s shares lost 1.5 percent to end the session at SR26.1 on Monday, extending losses from earlier in the day.

Pushed by growing demand for electric power, SEC made as much as SR33 billion in sales during the six-month period, up from SR32 billion in 2021.

The lower net income was attributed to higher operations and maintenance costs as well as higher booked receivable provisions due to increased average aging.