Saudi Arabia and Bulgaria agree to create a joint committee to deepen economic bonds

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose 89.56 points — or 0.84 percent — on Thursday to close at 10,051.78, led by sustained buying in all large-cap stocks.  

The Banking Index moved up 1.63 points to 10,714.58, led by about a 3 to 3.5 percent increase in the share prices of Banque Saudi Fransi, Saudi British Bank, Alinma Bank and Arab National Bank.  

TASI’s total trading turnover increased 24 percent to SR5.12 billion (SR1.36 billion) from Wednesday’s SR4.13 billion as 127 stocks of the listed 224 advanced and 87 fell back.  

MSCI Tadawul 30 Index picked up 0.84 percent to 1,397.62, even as the parallel market Nomu fell 0.50 percent to 19,120.30.  

Thimar Development Holding Co. was the top performer as its shares surged 10 percent to SR18.92 after the Saudi Exchange lifted a trading halt placed on its shares on Thursday as it had failed to disclose its financial statements within the stipulated time.  

On Feb. 28, the company announced a net profit of SR906,000 for the first nine months of 2022 against a net loss of SR3.7 million in the year-ago period.  

The other top performers for the day were Al-Baha Investment and Development Co. and Mobile Telecommunication Co.  

Power and Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, also known as Marafiq, was the worst performer as its share price plunged 3.4 percent to SR51.  

The utility major on Thursday reported a 34 percent increase in net profit after zakat and tax to SR845.7 million in 2022 from SR632 million in the year ending Dec. 31, 2021, as revenues grew on higher sales volumes despite an increase in financing costs.    

The company’s revenue increased 5 percent to SR6.50 billion in 2022 from SR6.19 billion in 2021.  

Its earnings per share moved up to SR3.38 in 2022 from SR2.53 in 2021.  

Marafiq’s board of directors on March 1 approved the distribution of a cash dividend at SR1.1 per share, or 11 percent of capital, for the second half of 2022.  

The other poor performers were Nahdi Medical Co., Saudi Public Transport Co., Al Gassim Investment Holding Co. and Arabian Drilling Co.  

On the announcements front, Taiba Investments Co. informed the stock exchange that it swung to a net profit of SR139.6 million in 2022 against a net loss of SR117.3 million in 2021 due to better-operating revenues and occupancy rates at its commercial centers.  

Revenues increased nearly 116 percent to SR330.38 million in 2022 from SR129.09 million in 2021.  

The positive performance was driven by increased hospitality operating revenues and better occupancy rates at its commercial centers due to the recovery from the pandemic impact. The company’s share price, nevertheless, dropped 1.5 percent to SR26.25.  

Meanwhile, Yanbu National Petrochemical Co. informed the stock exchange that it completed the turnaround activities at its complex and started gradual operations ahead of schedule.  

The company said in the statement that the expected financial impact of the preventive maintenance is estimated at SR385 million and will appear during the first and second quarters of 2023. Its share price closed slightly lower at SR41.80.  

In another bourse filing, Arabian Pipes Co. announced that it signed a contract worth around SR62 million to supply steel pipes to Saudi Aramco on March 2. Its share price close slightly up at SR39.60.