10 things to consider as Tadawul starts trading

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

1) Business conditions in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector saw muted improvement in February, with Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index rising slightly to 53.2 last month as compared to 53 in January.

2) Banque Saudi Fransi reported a net profit of SAR 423 million for Q4 2017, an increase of 13 percent year-on-year (YoY) that was attributed to higher operating income.

In a separate statement, the bank said its board of directors has recommended a 3.5 percent cash dividend for H2 2017, at SAR 0.35 per share, amounting to SAR 419.8 million.

3) Middle East Paper Co. (MEPCO) posted a net profit of SAR 24.5 million in Q4 2017, compared to a loss of SAR 16.8 million in the same period the previous year.

Separately, the firm said its board of directors has recommended a 7.5 percent cash dividend for fiscal year 2017, at SAR 0.75 per share, amounting to SAR 37.5 million.

4) Arriyadh Development Company’s board of directors has recommended an 8 percent cash dividend for the second half of 2017, at SAR 0.8 per share, amounting to SAR 106.6 million.

5) Saudi Printing and Packaging Co.’s (SPPC) wholly-owned subsidiary, Al Madina Al Munawara Printing and Publishing Co., has been awarded four contracts worth SAR 65 million by the Ministry of Education to print academic syllabus.

6) Abdullah A. M. Al-Khodari Sons Company (Al-Khodari) reported a gross profit of is SAR 12.82 million from the auction of its surplus equipment, held from Feb. 27 to March 1.

7) Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co. (GO) on Feb. 28 asked the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) to retrieve the SAR 50 million worth of bank guarantee, which has been recently liquidated.

8) Al Jouf Cement Co. is targeting the Iraqi market for its exports, as per the directives of the Saudi government in order to contribute to rebuilding the neighboring state, General Manager Jamal Al Amer told Argaam.

9) The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) was the largest in terms of initial public offering (IPO) volume in the GCC in Q4 2017, with 38 percent of total volume during the quarter, PwC said in a report.

10) Crude oil prices opened positive on Monday, ahead of a major industry conference in Houston, US, that will be attended by oil ministers from OPEC states and other industry leaders. Brent crude was last up 0.5 percent at $64.67/bbl while WTI crude rose 0.5 percent to $61.56/bbl.

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