Business Desk: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index gained 66.80 points, or 0.59 percent, to close at 11,344.40 on Thursday as 132 of the 224 stocks rose, while 72 closed down.
The top-performing index of the Saudi Stock Exchange was the Pharma, Biotech & Life Science Index, which soared 6.6 percent, followed by the insurance and transportation sectors, which rose 2 percent and 1.14 percent, respectively.
While the parallel market Nomu rose 0.15 percent to close at 20,832.55, the MSCI Tadawul Index edged up 0.60 percent to close at 1,526.51.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR6.2 billion ($1.65 billion).
The Co. for Cooperative Insurance, also known as Tawuniya, surged 7.5 percent to close at SR126.20.
Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corp. and Al-Rajhi Co. for Cooperative Insurance also rose 6.60 percent and 6.44 percent, respectively.
The worst performer was AlJazira REIT, which declined 3.38 percent to SR18.30.
On Thursday, the Capital Market Authority announced the approval of First Milling Co.’s application for an initial public offering of 30 percent of its share capital, with the offering size at 16.65 million shares. The shares will be offered from June 6-7.
On the earnings front, Sinad Holding Co. reported a net loss of SR21.5 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to a net profit of SR10.2 million in the year-ago period.
The company announced a decline in revenue of 11.37 percent to SR419.2 million for the quarter ending March 2023, compared to SR473 million in the same quarter of 2022. Its share price fell 1.5 percent to SR12.76.
Zamil Industrial Investment Co. reported a loss of SR13.8 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to a loss of SR51.9 million in the same period of 2022.
The construction major registered a 15.88 percent rise in revenue to SR1.03 billion compared to SR896.79 million in the first quarter of 2022.
The company stated that the decline in the net loss was due to higher sales and profits from associated companies and increased income from discontinued operations due to the reversal of a previously recognized impairment loss of SR22 million. Its share price closed inched up 0.42 percent to SR19.30.
Saudi Advanced Industries Co. revealed a decline in net profits of 28.67 percent, which amounted to SR22.07 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to SR30.94 million in the year-ago period.
Its revenue declined 26.39 percent to SR25.35 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the previous year’s figure of SR34.44 million. SAIC’s share price fell 0.54 percent to SR27.75.
Southern Province Cement Co. saw a decline of 43.68 percent in net profit to SR49 million from SR87 million in the same quarter of 2022.
Revenue witnessed a decline of 9.09 percent to SR300 million in the March quarter of 2023 compared to SR330 million in the same period of last year. Its share price dipped 0.96 percent to SR51.60.
Yanbu Cement Co. reported an increase in net profits of 31.03 percent, reaching SR51.01 in the first three months of 2023 compared to SR38.93 in the year-ago period.
On the other hand, revenue declined 7.29 percent to SR224.01 in the first quarter of 2023 compared to SR241.63 in the previous year. The cement manufacturer’s share price closed higher by 1.26 percent at SR35.95.
Saudi Ground Services Co. announced net profits of SR40 million in 2023 compared to a net loss of 19 million in 2022.
Revenue grew 32.74 percent to reach SR563.8 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to SR424.79 million in 2022. The share price of the airport services firm closed flat at SR31.45.
Saudi Steel Pipes announced the completion of its purchase of a $6.3 million stake in Global Pipe Co. This latest portion leaves SSP with a 57.27 percent stake in GPC. Its share price slipped 0.99 percent to SR24.50.
On the Islamic Bond front, Arabian Aramco Total Co. announced the early redemption of its Tadawul-listed sukuk, which amounted to SR1.4 billion. The filing showed that the bond was due to mature on Dec. 20, 2025.
