10 things you need to know on Tadawul today

Here are a few things you need to know as Saudi stocks start trading on Thursday.

1) Samba Financial Group (Samba) reported a net profit of SAR 1.3 billion for Q3 2017, a decrease of 2.5 percent year-on-year (YoY).

2) Saudi Printing and Packaging Co. (SPPC) narrowed its net loss to SAR 4.6 million in Q3 2017, compared to a loss of SAR 11.5 million in the same period last year.

3) Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Company (GGI) reported net profit before zakat of SAR 4.6 million in Q3 2017, down 33.5 percent YoY due to lower net written premiums.

4) Saudi Public Transport Company’s (SAPTCO) said its Q3 2017 net profit fell 28.2 percent YoY to SAR 63.3 million due to higher operating costs, recording investment losses and increased costs of finance.

5) Saudi Fisheries Co.’s (Alasmak) board of directors has appointed Tarek Al Rumaim as board chairman for the current three-year term that started on Oct. 25, 2017.

6) Saudi Real Estate Co. (Al Akaria) plans to sell its 50 percent stake in Al-Marifa Al-Akaria to Knowledge Economic City (KEC), in line with its strategy to offload small-sized investments.

7) Aljazira Mawten REIT said it will distribute 2.5 percent cash dividend to its shareholders at SAR 0.25 per share for the first half of 2017.

8) Saudi Arabia will need crude oil prices at $70 a barrel (bbl) next year to break even, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its Regional Economic Outlook report.

9) Saudi Arabia led the reform efforts among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to improve business climate and competitiveness, carrying out six reforms over the past year, the World Bank said in its latest report.

10) Oil prices edged up on Thursday, although Brent crude remained below the $61-mark that it crossed yesterday. The global benchmark was last trading up 0.1 percent at $60.55/bbl, while WTI crude was slightly higher at $54.3/bbl.

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com