RIYADH: Saudi Tadawul Group’s stock recorded gains on Sunday, even after it posted lower first-quarter profit as a decline in trading services weighed on revenue.
Profits of Tadawul, which owns and operates the Kingdom’s bourse, fell 21.7 percent to SR141 million ($37 million), down from SR180 million a year ago, according to a bourse filing.
Despite that, shares were up 3.04 percent to close at SR203, amid trading of nearly SR110 million worth of shares.
This came in line with a 12-percent drop in revenue to SR293 million during the quarter due to a “decrease in trading services and post-trade services driven by the normalization of trading volumes which contracted 22.1 percent.”
“During the first quarter, we continued to diversify the group’s services and enhance the operational efficiency,” said CEO Khalid Al-Hussan.
Despite the profit drop, he added: “We are in a strong financial position driven by our advanced and differentiated business model, in addition to our ambitious growth plans and disciplined capital allocation strategy.”
