Record losses for Saudi bourse amid large decline in banks
The Kingdom’s stock market continued to decline, bouncing back from 3 consecutive sessions of gains and affected by the decline in bank stocks in light of the severe economic crisis.
Saudi Arabia’s main index closed 0.3% lower, with Al Rajhi Bank down 1% and Riyad Bank down 2.5%.
Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) was the biggest loser, dropping 3.6%, and its profits fell more than half in the third quarter compared to the same period last year.
Government data showed consumer prices in the Kingdom fell in September from a year earlier for the ninth straight month, but at the slowest pace since the start of the year.
State oil firm Aramco has postponed its planned initial public offering, hoping its third-quarter results will boost investor confidence in the world’s largest oil company.
Aramco was expected to announce plans this week to offer a 1-2 percent stake in the Saudi bourse, in what would have been one of the largest public offerings ever, worth more than $20 billion.
50 Saudi companies, representing 28% of the total 179 listed companies, suffered heavy losses during the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2018.
Profits of 88 listed companies have also fallen, accounting for about half of the companies, according to a survey by Al Arabi Al Jadeed.
The results of the companies, which were disclosed successively during the past days, showed that 32 companies exceeded their losses 100%, and the losses of a company approached 10,000%, while losses of four companies exceeded two thousand%.
Tabuk Agricultural Company was the top gainer in terms of losses with 9580% followed by Al Sorayai Trading and Industrial Group with losses of 3751.5%, Takween Advanced Industries by 1344% and Jazan Energy and Development Company (Jazadco) with 1164.7%.
Fourteen sectors suffered losses during the first half of the year, compared to the corresponding period of 2018, out of a total of 21 sectors according to the classification of sectors under which companies fall.
The energy sector recorded a sharp and unprecedented decline in profits by 73.7%, as Petro Rabigh recorded a loss of 109.7% compared to the same period last year, which incurred losses of 51.6 million riyals ($13.7 million), compared to profits of 530.6 million. Real in the first half of last year.
Profits of the basic materials sector plunged as SABIC, the largest petrochemical company, collapsed by 54.8% to SAR 5.5 billion ($ 1.47 billion), compared with SAR 12.2 billion ($3.25 billion) in the corresponding period of 2018.
Profits of the long-term commodities sector collapsed by 196.2%, utilities by 182.4% and property management and development by 54.6%.
Observers considered that the bleeding losses for Saudi companies and sectors in recent years is due to the collapse of many activities, due to the decline in oil revenues and the cost of war in Yemen and conflicts in the Gulf region.
