Dull earnings hit UAE, Saudi soft

Dubai : Disappointing quarterly earnings among big banks pulled down stock markets in the United Arab Emirates yesterday, while Orascom Telecom posted a big net loss that weighed on Egypt’s bourse. Bahrain index fell 0.2 per cent to 1,111 points.

Abu Dhabi’s index lost 1.0 pc. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank nosedived 7.7 pc after it reported first-quarter net profit of 1.02 billion dirhams ($277.7 million), missing analysts’ forecasts. It attributed the 18.2 pc fall to a dip in income from core business and increased bad loan provisions.

In Dubai, the stock index pulled back 0.4 pc with Dubai Islamic Bank dropping 2.0 pc. On Wednesday it had slipped 3.6 pc after posting a 7.2 pc increase in first-quarter profit to 875.3 million dirhams.

EFG Hermes had forecast 938 million dirhams.

Egypt’s Orascom Telecom retreated 1.3 per cent after reporting a net loss of 3.6 bn Egyptian pounds ($405 m) in 2015 versus a net profit of 263.98 m pounds a year earlier.

The conglomerate’s operating revenues increased 12.8 pc but its financial costs surged 209 pc as it moved into new industries such as financial services and renewable energy.

Cairo’s main stock index pulled back 1.2 pc.

In Riyadh, the index edged down 0.2 pc as investors booked profits, but still gained 3.3 pc over the week. It gained strongly early in the week after Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced economic reforms designed to free the kingdom from its dependence on petrodollars.

In Qatar, telecommunications operator Ooredoo rose 0.6 pc after it reported a 75 pc leap in first-quarter net profit to 879 m riyals ($241.4 m), driven by foreign exchange gains.

Analysts at EFG Hermes and SICO Bahrain had forecast 452.5 m riyals and 487 m riyals.

Barwa Real Estate reported an 80 pc fall in first-quarter net profit, but its shares jumped 5.0 pc as investors recognised the drop in earnings was mainly due to a one-off sale of real estate worth 2.7 bn riyals in the year-earlier period.

Qatar’s stock index edged up 0.3 pc.