RIYADH: A total of 83 listed companies on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) were trading above their three-month average when the bourse closed for the week on Thursday, according to data compiled by financial news website Argaam.
Topping the list with a massive 2,646 percent surge was Mouwasat Medical Services Company. The rise comes as the medical firm reported a 36 percent year-on-year increase in profit to SR147.2 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021.
The hospital segment was the main catalyst, with revenue up 10 percent to SR466.1 million in the first three months of this year.
In fact, overall revenue from the company’ hospital sector has risen by 185 percent during the past five years, while the pharmacies segment also reported a boost of 130 percent across the same period.
Looking forward, the latest results also showed that the value of continuing construction projects is currently worth about SR463.1 million at the end of March 2021.
Just pipped to the top spot but with an equally impressive 1,832 percent surge in trading was the National Petrochemical Company (Petrochem). In the first quarter of this year, Petrochem reported net profit after Zakat and tax of SR311 million, a more than six-fold increase from the year before.
Like much of the petrochems sector, this was due to the increase in average selling prices. Saudi petrochemical producers listed on Tadawul in total reported net profits of SR8.5 billion in Q1 2021, a 368.1 percent rebound from the SR3.2 billion losses over the same period in 2020.
A recent report by Euler Hermes, the world’s largest trade credit insurance provider, said that the rebound would continue throughout this year and that the recent surge was mainly from the food packaging and hygiene sectors and could be attributed to increased demand in these sectors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Third on the list was Saudi Airlines Catering Company, which was trading 1,147 percent above its three-month average. This is despite reporting a net loss after Zakat and tax of SR30 million for Q1, compared to a net profit of SR15.6 million in the same period last year.
The losses were due to a decline in demand for services as international flights were grounded in the Kingdom. However, planes started flying overseas again as of May 17.
Nama Chemicals Company was another petrochems company benefiting from the recent rebound in the sector and saw its shares trading 489 percent higher. Like the rest of the industry at large, Nama reported a net profit after Zakat and tax of SR10 million for Q1, compared to a net loss of SR7.33 million last year. The results backed up claims by its CEO Abdullah Al-Salem, who told CNBC Arabia earlier this month that the company is expected to write off its accumulated losses by the end of the year.
Rounding out the top five was Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF), which saw its trading up 436 percent. The lender reported a net profit of SR780 million for Q1, up 14 percent compared to SR682 million in the first quarter of 2020.
Its investment and brokerage, and retail segments, rose 66 percent and 6 percent year-on-year, respectively, in Q1.
