Sabic the world's largest chemical firm by market value, beat estimates with a 46% rise in third-quarter profit on Sunday, buoyed by higher plastic and petrochemical sales.

Sabic made a net profit of 5.33 billion riyals ($1.42 billion) in the three months to Sept. 30, up from 3.65 billion riyals a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected an average of 5.09 billion riyals in third-quarter net profit.

"The rise in third-quarter profit stemmed ... from an increase in production and sales as well as an improvement in the prices of most petrochemical and plastic products," it said.

Quarterly operating profit was up 41% at 8.98 billion riyals.