RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped for the third day in a row, as it shed 56.16 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 11,636.07.
The total trading turnover on Tuesday was recorded at SR5.41 billion ($1.44 billion) as 89 of the listed 228 stocks declined, while 121 advanced.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia’s parallel market Nomu gained 214.51 points to close at 24,715.15.
The MSCI Tadawul Index, however, dropped by 0.63 percent to 1,525.14.
Perfect Presentation for Commercial Services Co. emerged as the top performer, as its share price soared by 6.24 percent to close at SR23.84.
Other top gainers included Saudi Ground Services Co. and Arabian Drilling Co. whose share prices surged by 3.79 percent and 3.40 percent respectively.
The worst performer was East Pipes Integrated Co. for Industry, as its share price dropped by 3.46 percent to SR61.40.
On the announcements front, SABIC Agri-Nutrients Co. announced that its net profit narrowed by 70.53 percent to SR1.16 billion in the first half of 2023, from SR5.53 billion in the same period a year ago.
In a Tadawul statement, the company attributed the fall in net profit to the decrease in average selling prices which dropped by 47 percent in the first half.
In the second quarter of 2023, its net profit fell 78.48 percent to SR651 million, compared to SR3.02 billion in the same period a year ago. Driven by the decline in profit, the company’s share price dropped by 1.39 percent to SR142.20.
Retal Urban Development Co. also announced its financial results for the first half of 2023. The company reported a net profit of SR112.54 million in the first half, up 20.45 percent compared to SR93.43 million in the first half of 2022.
According to a Tadawul statement, the rise in profit was driven by a 42.43 percent growth in revenue to SR582.98 million compared to SR409.31 million a year ago. Retal’s share price edged up by 1.33 percent to SR9.15.
Meanwhile, Middle East Paper Co. announced that it signed a subscription agreement with the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund.
The subscription agreement will help MEPCO raise its capital to SR866.67 million from SR666.67 million, along with suspending the rights shares by issuing 19.9 million new ordinary shares, representing 30 percent of the company’s existing capital, at a nominal value of SR10 per share.
“The new shares will be fully subscribed by PIF so that PIF’s ownership in MEPCO’s share capital will be 23.08 percent after the capital increase, subject to the Capital Market Authority’s approval,” said MEPCO in a Tadawul statement.
