RIYADH: Shares in Nahdi Medical Co., the operator of one of the largest pharmacy chains in Saudi Arabia, dropped after catching the market by surprise in its first annual results post-listing.
As of 10:07 a.m. Saudi time, Nahdi shares fell 1.26 percent to settle at SR156 ($33.59), leading the fallers in early Tuesday trading.
Its shares were trading at SR158 on Monday, implying a market valuation as high as SR20.5 billion
The firm made a strong debut on the Kingdom’s stock exchange on March 22, with an initial public offering price of SR131, raising $1.36 billion in the biggest Saudi IPO since oil giant Aramco.
On Monday it reported that its profits fell by 4.3 percent last year.
Profits dropped to SR813 million from SR849 million a year earlier, according to a bourse filing.
The Jeddah-based operator attributed the results to lower revenue, which declined by 6.7 percent to SR8.1 billion during the year.
“The impact of the decline in revenue was partially offset by the favorable product mix, and a reversal of inventory provision for corona-related items,” Nahdi said.
