Profits of Saudi companies listed on the Saudi stock market recorded a decline of 37.1 percent, "38.6 billion riyals" during the third quarter of this year, to reach 65.6 billion riyals, compared to 104.3 billion riyals in the same period last year.
According to the monitoring unit of the reports in Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper, based on data from the Saudi Stock Exchange Company (Tadawul), the decline came mainly from the decline in the profits of the energy sector, as Aramco's profits were affected by the decline in oil prices during the period, in addition to the decline in the profits of petrochemical companies and banks.
With the exception of Saudi Aramco, the listed companies achieved a 12.3 percent decline in their profits during the third quarter, to about 21.4 billion riyals, compared to 24.4 billion riyals for the same period of the previous year.
Compared to the previous quarter, the “second quarter,” we find that the consolidated profits of the listed companies have improved significantly, as profits were affected by the economic closure as a result of the response to the Coronavirus, with profits recording a jump of about 148 percent.
The profits of the third quarter of the current year do not include the results of the units of real estate traded funds "REIT", and also do not include companies that were unable to declare their profits during the period, namely "Al-Khudari, Thimaar, and Wafa Insurance, as well as Jabal Omar."
Saudi Aramco recorded a net profit of 44.21 billion riyals in the third quarter, as the company's results were affected by the decline in crude oil prices and sales, in addition to the decline in refining profit margins.
While SABIC achieved a net profit of 1.09 billion riyals during the third quarter, compared to a net profit of 0.74 billion riyals for the same period of 2019, the company cut a series of losses that spanned three quarters.
The results of market companies were also affected by the decline in the profits of the banking sector, which decreased by 5 percent, due to the increase in provisions as well as the decrease in commission income, so that banks achieved a net profit for the third quarter at 11.9 billion riyals.
In the third quarter, six sectors recorded a net loss, namely: investment and finance, consumer services, transportation, long-term goods, commercial and professional services, as well as the real estate management and development sector that did not include Jabal Omar's results, which declared that it was unable to publish its business in the specified period.
On the other hand, nine sectors recorded a growth in their profits, as profits of capital goods jumped by 484 percent to reach 116 million in the third quarter compared to about 20 million, the pharmaceutical sector grew by 145 percent and the health care sector 54.3 percent at 620 million riyals.
The profits of the basic materials sector also increased by 14.6 percent, supported by the profits of cement companies, as the sector recorded a net profit of 2.65 billion riyals.
While five sectors recorded a decline in profits, they are the energy sector, food retail, banking, luxury goods, and public utilities.
In addition, with regard to the results of the nine months of this year, the consolidated profits of companies amounted to about 166.4 billion riyals, compared to net profits for the same period amounting to 320.3 billion riyals, with profits for the period declining by 48 percent, or the equivalent of 153.9 billion riyals.
The Big 10
Regarding the top ten profitable companies in the market during the third quarter of this year, Saudi Aramco topped the list with a value of 44.2 billion riyals, while the National Commercial Bank came second with 3.2 billion riyals.
Third, STC comes with 2.8 billion riyals, followed by Al-Rajhi Bank 2.7 billion riyals, the Saudi Electricity Company 2.2 billion riyals, and Riyadh Bank, which achieved a net profit of 1.3 billion riyals.
In seventh place, Samba Bank with profits of 1.2 billion riyals, then the "SABIC" company, which returned again to the list with its return to profit of about 1.1 billion riyals, ninth, SABB Bank, about one billion riyals, and finally the Arab Bank with profits of 669 million riyals.
Economic Reports Unit
