Tadawul: Telecom shares post gains

The Tadawul All Index Share edged up 0.1 percent on Monday, as Zain Saudi jumped 8.9 percent and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) added 3.6 percent.
Last week, Zain reported its first-ever quarterly net profit, and this raised hopes for Mobily, which has also been struggling to make money.
“I believe the market is expecting Mobily to report profits just like Zain did,” said Iyad Ghulam, senior equity analyst at NCB Capital.
“But I do not expect the company to be able to report strong growth in sales as Zain did, and costs may remain relatively high,” Ghulam added. NCB Capital has forecast Mobily will post a small loss of SR50 million ($13.3 million) for the three months to March 31.
Saudi banks started strongly but then came well off their highs. Mid-sized Bank Aljazira, which jumped as much as 2.6 percent early in the day after its first-quarter earnings beat expectations, closed 0.9 percent lower.
Aljazira made a net profit of SR216 million; NCB Capital had expected SR184 million and EFG Hermes, SR165 million. Profit plunged 43.3 percent from a year earlier, but the bank said this was because of a SR209 million special gain from a land sale in the year-earlier period.
Shares in bigger banks Al-Rajhi and Riyad Bank traded higher early in the day but closed flat. Riyad Bank’s first-quarter net profit fell 10.8 percent to SR1.05 billion but was ahead of the average analyst forecast of SR876.5 million.
Saudi Investment Bank (SIB), the worst-performing lender, lost 1.8 percent. Before the start of trade, exchange data showed financially troubled construction company Saudi Oger had sold a 2.8 percent stake in the bank, bringing its stake down to 5.8 percent. The buyers of the stake were not revealed.
In Abu Dhabi, Eshraq Properties, whose shares came under pressure last week on news that the emirate’s property prices were softening, rebounded 1.8 percent after Abu Dhabi government fund Mubadala said it was considering forming a venture with the loss-making real estate developer.
This would involve developing land in Abu Dhabi owned by Mubadala on Al-Maryah Island, where a new financial free zone is located, and by Eshraq on Al-Reem Island.
First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest lender, added 2.8 percent; the stock is up 7.8 percent since the bank was formed in a merger on April 1. The Abu Dhabi index was the region’s best performer on Monday, adding 1.2 percent.
In Dubai, loss-making builder Arabtec rose 3.2 percent, pulling away from a six-year low after Arabtec hired a new chief financial officer, Peter Pollard, who will oversee its recapitalization program. At a shareholder meeting on Tuesday, Arabtec will seek investor approval for a $408 million rights issue. Arabtec’s rebound helped the Dubai stock index close 0.3 percent higher.
In Doha, real estate firms and banks were the main drags on the index, which fell 0.9 percent. Ezdan Holding Group was the worst performer, dropping 3.4 percent, while the largest bank, Qatar National Bank, fell 2.1 percent.
Egypt’s bourse was closed for a public holiday.

Source: Arab News