CAIRO: Egypt’s Maridive, the biggest oil services firm by fleet size in the Middle East, posted a first-quarter net profit of $15.4 million, down 34.3 percent from a year earlier, the stock exchange said on Sunday.

The firm made a net profit of $23.4 million in the first quarter of 2009, the bourse said.

Five analysts polled by Reuters forecast Maridive would post a first-quarter net profit of $20.6 million.