PETROCHEMICALS and metals company Industries Qatar (IQ) posted a 6 per cent drop in fourth-quarter net profit, citing lower global fertiliser prices, but boosted its dividend payout.

The Gulf’s second-largest chemical producer by market value, behind Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), made a net profit of QR1.673 billion ($459 million) in the quarter, Reuters calculated based on its financial statements, compared with QR1.784 billion a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Reuters had on average expected the company to post a quarterly profit of QR1.989 billion.

IQ’s full-year profit fell to QR8.012 billion in 2013, it said in a statement, from QR8.441 billion a year earlier, a decrease of 5 per cent.

“Results ... were adversely impacted by continued significant fertiliser price deflation, in line with international trends, and heightened fertiliser operating costs following increases in natural gas rates under the supply and purchase agreement with Qatar Petroleum,” the firm quoted its chief coordinator Abdulrahman Ahmad Al Shaibi as saying.

However, IQ’s board decided to distribute a dividend of QR11 per share or 110 per cent of its nominal value, up from QR8.5 per share for 2012.

“Based on the group’s February 16, 2014 average closing price on the Qatar Exchange, this is equivalent to a dividend yield of 6.1 per cent,” it said.