Catrion catering trucks at a loading dock. (Catrion)
The fighting in the region is now eating into the businesses that keep Saudi Arabia's planes in the air, even as the holy cities keep drawing money.
Catrion, the airline caterer formerly known as Saudia Catering, said third-quarter profit fell 56% to about SR43 million ($11.5 million), according to its filing on Tadawul. That's down from nearly SR100 million a year earlier.
Why it fell: regional disruption meant fewer flights, fewer passengers and fewer meals served. The company called the pressure temporary.
Higher financing costs on its leases and projects, plus bigger losses at an associate company, added to the drop.
Not all bad news: revenue still rose 20% to about SR740 million. Work away from airplanes did the lifting: catering for the Red Sea tourism project, business lounges and hospitals. A Gulf catering company it bought in March also added sales.
The bigger picture: profit for the first nine months is down 28% to about SR170 million. Budget airline flynas is under pressure too, losing about SR240 million in the second quarter as fuel costs climbed.
A tale of two sectors: travel businesses are hurting, while Makkah land is selling for twice its value. Pilgrims keep coming. Business and leisure flights don't.
What to watch: flynas's third-quarter results, due in the coming days, will show how deep the damage to travel runs.
