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Tadawul bourse falls below 7,000
February 5, 2013--The Saudi Stock Exchange's market index Tasi closed 0.47% lower at 6,992.52 Tuesday.
The gauge has been trading sideways since mid-January. Sabic fell the third day straight to SR92.50. Wataniya Insurance Co. dived 1.67% to close at SR117.50. Earlier in the day, Wataniya Insurance Co. said that Standard & Poor's has maintained Wataniya's rating at investment grade BBB with a stable outlook.
Arab Banking Corp. profit rises slightly, shares surge
February 5, 2013-- The Bahrain All-Share Index gained 1.31% to close at 1,099.59 points Tuesday.
Shares or Arab Banking Corp. or ABC jumped 5.41%, closing at $0.39. Earlier in the day, ABC said its net profit in 2012 reached $205m, up from $204 in the previous year. The lender added in a statement that the total operating income amounted to $816m as against $818m in 2011, "despite the severe impact of the stronger dollar in translating the revenues of subsidiaries in 2012." ABC said further that "strong revenues from our subsidiaries in MENA, Europe and Brazil, as well as from our wholesale banking and treasury operations" boosted the group's earnings. Operating expenses plummeted by $11m to $403m.
Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co. soars, publishes annual results
February 4, 2013--The Tadawul All-Share Index slipped 0.11% to 7,025.44 points Monday.
Sabic declined 0.80% in value and finished trading at SR93. Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co. jumped 3.44% to hit SR15.05. Earlier in the day, the producer of pipes, tanks and related accessories said the net income for 2012 amounted to SR111.3m, representing a decrease of 26% compared to the previous year. The firm said income for the year declined due to decrease of sales by 3% year-on-year. "The management adopted the policy of containing the sales knowing that this would result in declining sales growth because of the notable increase of the outstanding receivables and the willingness of the management to control and decrease the growth of the receivables by way of controlling the credit sales," it added. Other reason of declined profits is the share of the company in the net losses of Associates amounting to SR39.3m compared to SR11.4m for the prior year. However, operating expenses decreased by 8% year-on-year.
DP World shares pinned down at $13
February 4, 2013--The FTSE NASDAQ Dubai UAE 20 Indexindex closed up 0.39% at 2096.08 Monday.
DP Wordl fell 0.70% to $13.01. The share has been attempting to shave the resistance at this level since mid-January while trading turnover decreased since then.
Qtel gains on Asiacell's Iraq IPO
February 4, 2013--For the second day in a row, the QE 20 Index closed unchanged at 8,725.03 points.
Qatar Telecom added half a percentage point to close at QR112.50. Earlier in the day, the telecom firm's subsidiary Asiacell announced the successful completion of its share offer. The offering raised IQD1,485.1 billion ($1.27bn), representing 25% of its share capital. The company also announced the admission of its Shares to the Official List of Securities maintained by the Iraq Securities Commission and to trading on the Iraq Stock Exchange, under the ticker "TASC". Following the IPO, 25% of the shares will be in free float with Qtel now consolidating 64.06% of Asiacell, including an existing stake of 49% held through a wholly owned Iraqi subsidiary.
Aldar net profit doubles, shares dive
February 4, 2013--The ADX General Index added 0.33%, ending at 2,890.24 points.
The emirate's biggest developer Aldar Properties fell 4.17% to Dhs1.38. Earlier in the day, Aldar said the net income in 2012 doubled year-on-year to reach Dhs1.34bn. The firm's net asset value was up 15.3% to hit Dhs8.2bn, up from Dhs7.1bn. Last month, the board of directors gave green light to recommend to shareholders to merge with Abu Dhabi's second developer Sorouh Real Estate. Ali Eid AlMheiri, Chairman of Aldar Properties said "shareholders will benefit from both the continued efforts of our employees to realise value from our sizeable asset base and from our proposed merger with Sorouh that will create a significantly stronger platform from which to drive sustainable growth." Shares of developer Eshres were the most liquid securities Monday, closing 3.85% higher at Dhs0.54.
Aramex delivers higher net profit, shares edge up
February 4, 2013--After diving over two percent Sunday, the DFM General Index gained 0.90% to reach 1,864.66 points Monday.
Aramex gained 0.92% to reach Dhs2.19 after the Middle East's first logistics and parcel service provider reported a 15% year-on-year increase in net profits for 2012, amounting to Dhs244.1m. Emaar advanced 1.71%, closing at Dhs4.77. Deyaar Properties fell 2.68% to Dhs0.363. Shuaa Capital finished 1.32% higher at Dhs0.616. The Dubai-based investment bank said earlier in the day its asset management had been awarded "UAE Equity Fund of the Year" 2012 for the performance of its Emirates Gateway Fund by MENA Fund Manager. The SHUAA Emirates Gateway Fund outperformed its peers with a performance of 30.94% in 2012. Some 166m shares were traded at the DFM, valued at Dhs330.7m.
Egypt keeps interest rates unchanged
February 2, 2013--Egypt's central bank has kept interest rates unchanged, weighing inflation risks against slower economic growth, with both factors driven by investor worries about the country's political crisis, Reuters has reported.
"While the slowdown in economic growth has been limiting upside risks to the inflation outlook, there are possible upward pressures on inflation going forward," the bank said. "Given the mixed balance of risks surrounding the inflation and GDP outlooks and the uncertainty at this juncture, the Monetary Policy Committee judges that the current key Central Bank of Egypt rates are appropriate," it added.
DP World shares consolidate above $13
January 31, 2013--The FTSE NASDAQ Dubai UAE 20 Index gained 0.90% Thursday, ending at 2,112.090.
Dubai Ports (DP) World added likewise 0.92%, finishing at $13.12. Earlier in the week, DP World said it handled 56.1 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its global portfolio in 2012, a 2.4% increase over the prior year.
Bahrain's Al Salam Bank rallies as profits skyrocket
January 31, 2013--The Manama-based Bahrain All-Share Index closed flat at 1,085.14 Thursday.
Year-to-date, the gauge added 1.83%. Shares of Islamic financial institution Al-Salam Bank Bahrain jumped 2.44% to hit BD0.084. Earlier in the day, Al Salam reported that its net profit in 2012 surged 20-fold year-on-year, amounting to BD10.38m. Earnings per share reached BD6.9 over BD0.2 in 2011. The published income statement revealed that total operating income nearly doubled to BD23m, fueled by gains on sale of investment and sukuk. Al Salam Bank Bahrain, whose shares are also listed on the Dubai Financial Market, advanced 127% in the last 12 months.
