RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index on Tuesday made a massive comeback by gaining 101.52 points — or 1 percent — to close at 10,051.78, breaking the streak of losses that lasted seven sessions.
While MSCI Tadawul 30 Index increased 0.66 percent to 1,371.82, the parallel market Nomu rose 0.79 percent to 18,967.99.
TASI’s total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR6.79 billion ($1.81 billion) as 143 stocks of the listed 224 advanced and 64 retracted.
Share prices of Nahdi Medical Co., Middle East Healthcare Co. and ACWA Power Co. surged by 6 percent to close at SR186.60, SR33.30 and SR139.40, respectively.
Saudi Public Transport Co. was the worst performer of the day as its share price fell 4 percent to SR17.26.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. also witnessed a considerable sell-off, dropping 3.7 percent to SR88.50.
Al Hammadi Holding, Saudi Industrial Investment Group and Astra Industrial Group were the other prominent losers of the day.
On the announcements front, Sahara International Petrochemical Co. posted a net profit of SR3.595 billion in 2022, a slight increase from SR3.591 billion a year earlier.
The modest positive performance was driven by higher sales quantities as a result of improved plant efficiency and reliability, even as weaker product prices and higher prices of some feedstock contributed to the lower profit margin. Its share price shot up 4.27 percent to SR35.40.
National Industrialization Co. posted a 51 percent decrease in net profit to SR666.3 million for 2022 from SR1.35 billion a year before.
The lower earnings were due to a decline in the profit share from investment in joint ventures and associates on lower average selling prices and sales volumes. Yet, its share price increased 2.73 percent to SR12.06.
Saudi Industrial Services Co. reported a 37 percent decline in net profit to SR36.7 million in 2022 from SR57.9 million in a year-earlier period.
This was triggered by a decline in the revenues from the ports segment on the gateway volumes, the water segment on an unplanned plant shutdown, and the logistics business division on lower service and open yard revenue. SISCO’s share price gained 1.78 percent to SR24.20.
Amlak International Finance Co. reported a 10 percent decline in net profit to SR96.7 million in 2022 from SR107.8 million in 2021, driven by higher finance costs and operating expenses. Its share price rose 1.5 percent to SR14.88.
Thob Al Aseel Co.’s net profit slipped 11 percent to SR53.4 million in 2022 from SR59.7 million in 2021 due to higher provisions for credit losses in line with the general increase in trade receivables. Yet, its share price surged 5.38 percent to SR36.25.
Riyad Bank’s board of directors approved, on Feb. 20, the buyback of 5 million shares maximum to be allocated for the employee stock incentive plan.
The company said the share repurchase would be financed from the bank’s internal resources. However, the decision is subject to the approval of the upcoming extraordinary general meeting. The share price of the lender fell 2.25 percent to SR26.05.
