UAE’s Emirates Global Aluminium reports a 34% rise in 2022 net profit

The company paid shareholders dividends of 3.7 billion dirhams, consisting of an interim dividend of 2.2 billion dirhams in July and a further 1.5 billion dirhams, making it the largest payout for shareholders in the company’s history.
The company paid shareholders dividends of 3.7 billion dirhams, consisting of an interim dividend of 2.2 billion dirhams in July and a further 1.5 billion dirhams, making it the largest payout for shareholders in the company’s history.
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Updated 07 March 2023

UAE’s Emirates Global Aluminium reports a 34% rise in 2022 net profit

UAE’s Emirates Global Aluminium reports a 34% rise in 2022 net profit

RIYADH: The Emirates Global Aluminium reported 7.4 billion dirhams ($2 billion) in 2022 net profit, a 34 percent rise from a year earlier.

A rise in production and sales drove the revenues up, the company said on Tuesday.

Adjusted profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization — also known as EBITDA — increased 37 percent to 12.4 billion dirhams. 

The aluminum firm also said the 36 percent adjusted EBITDA compared to 35 percent in 2021, is one of the highest among industry peers. Cash generated from operating activities of $3.4 billion increased 70 percent from $2 billion in 2021, it added. 

The company paid shareholders dividends of 3.7 billion dirhams, consisting of an interim dividend of 2.2 billion dirhams in July and a further 1.5 billion dirhams, making it the largest payout for shareholders in the company’s history.

“Our performance demonstrated our resilience and strength at every step of the value chain,” said EGA CEO Abdulnasser bin Kalban said. 

“I am confident that EGA will deliver another competitive performance in 2023 compared to peers in the sector,” he added. 

However, EGA reported an impairment loss of $288 million for mining assets and related equipment at Guinea Alumina Corp., a prudent accounting measure representing higher capital costs and other market conditions in Guinea. 


Closing bell: Saudi benchmark index continues upward movement on promising market conditions

Closing bell: Saudi benchmark index continues upward movement on promising market conditions
Updated 11 sec ago

Closing bell: Saudi benchmark index continues upward movement on promising market conditions

Closing bell: Saudi benchmark index continues upward movement on promising market conditions

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index continued its upward trajectory on Sunday as it went up by 12.97 points or 0.93 percent to close at 10,459.36. The promising market conditions resulted in a rise in investor confidence, pushing the market up.

The parallel market, Nomu, also rose by 174.79 points or 0.92 percent to close at 19,231.63, while the MSCI Tadawul 30 Index gained 0.02 percent to reach 1,423.63 on Sunday. Total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.05 billion ($1.08 billion).

On Thursday, during the first session of Ramadan month, the main index gained 95.88 points and closed at 10,446.39.

Arab Sea Information System Co. emerged as the top gainer, as its share prices went up by 9.96 percent to SR78.40 followed by Al Kathiri Holding Co. whose share prices surged by 9.88 percent to SR55.60.

Zain KSA which reported a net profit of SR550 million in 2022, saw its shares surge 9.83 percent to SR11.84.

Thimar Development Holding Co. was the worst performer, dropping 9.95 percent to SR43.45, followed by Al Sagr Cooperative Insurance Co. whose share prices went down by 6.08 percent to SR12.66.

Meanwhile, Horizon Food Co., affiliated with Tabuk Agriculture Development Co. began trading on Nomu on Sunday with an opening price of SR37 per share and closed the session at SR44.95 at the end of the session, up 21.49 percent.

On Sunday, Amwaj International Co. announced its financial results for 2022. In a statement issued to Tadawul, the company revealed that it recorded a 2.7 percent rise in net profit to SR29.02 million in 2022, compared to SR28.26 million in the year-ago period.

Sure Global Tech Co. reported a net profit of SR24.07 million in 2022, up 33 percent from SR18.12 million in 2021. In a bourse statement, the company attributed the rise in profit to a 12 percent increase in revenues driven by the product segment, adequately supported by the expansion of the customer base.

Sure Global Tech Co. also added that net profit increased in 2022 due to the revenue growth in infrastructure, professional and digital services segments. Despite the rise in net profit, the company’s share prices fell by 1.67 percent to close at SR53.10.

Arabian Pipes Co., also known as APC turned profitable in 2022, as the company reported a net profit of SR8.9 million, versus a net loss of SR60.1 million in 2021. According to a bourse statement, the net profit of the company rose in 2022 due to an increase in sales which went up by 37 percent.

Driven by the rise in profits, the share prices of Arabian Pipes Co. went up by 9.52 percent to SR42.

Another company that reported its financial results on Sunday was Saudi Ground Services Co. In 2022, the company trimmed its net losses to SR244.48 million, compared to SR254.41 million in 2021. Even though the company performed well in 2022 compared to 2021, its share prices dropped by 4.76 percent to SR22.


Saudi REDF deposits over $246m in Sakani accounts for housing projects  

Saudi REDF deposits over $246m in Sakani accounts for housing projects  
Updated 33 min 57 sec ago

Saudi REDF deposits over $246m in Sakani accounts for housing projects  

Saudi REDF deposits over $246m in Sakani accounts for housing projects  

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Development Fund deposited more than SR925 million ($246.2 million) in the accounts of Sakani beneficiaries in March 2023.  

The Sakani program was launched in 2017 by the REDF to facilitate homeownership in the Kingdom, by developing new housing stock, allocating plots and homes to nationals and financing their purchase. 

The deposit, which also comes from the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing and the REDF, is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 which aims to increase the proportion of citizens who own a home to 70 percent.  

Mansour bin Madi, CEO of REDF, stated that the total amount deposited in the accounts of Sakani beneficiaries since the announcement of the transformation program in June 2017 until March 2023, exceeded SR46.2 billion.  

He also said that the total fund for the current month of March was allocated to support the profits of various housing contracts.  

Bin Madi explained that the fund launched the second phase of product governance and provided an electronic service that allows the beneficiaries with self-construction projects to update the stages of building their homes.  

This is to emphasize the importance of the beneficiaries' commitment to direct the stages of building their housing and follow up on the stages.  

He added this is to ensure that the fund supports and facilitates are provided to the beneficiaries during the time period specified in the financing contracts and housing support regulations. 


IMF says risks to financial stability have increased, calls for vigilance

IMF says risks to financial stability have increased, calls for vigilance
Updated 43 min 10 sec ago

IMF says risks to financial stability have increased, calls for vigilance

IMF says risks to financial stability have increased, calls for vigilance

RIYADH: International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Sunday that risks to financial stability have increased and called for continued vigilance although actions by advanced economies have calmed market stress.

Speaking during the first day of the China Development Forum, Georgieva noted that 2023 poses yet another challenging and thought-provoking year with an expected global growth rate slowing to below 3 percent.  

This is mainly attributed to the repercussion of the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as monetary tightening, the IMF chief explained.  

Even though progressive economies have attempted to compose market stress, the overall outlook for 2024 remains weak with the growth rate estimated to stand below the historic average of 3.8 percent, she pointed out.

"So, we continue to monitor developments closely and are assessing potential implications for the global economic outlook and global financial stability," Georgieva reassured. 

Moreover, when it comes to vulnerable and low-income countries with high levels of debt, she emphasized that the IMF is paying close attention to those in order to further support them.  

In addition to this, there is a risk of the world splitting into rival economic blocs, resulting in "a dangerous division that would leave everyone poorer and less secure," as a consequence of geo-economic fragmentation, Georgieva warned. 

That said, China has a significant role to play with regard to minimizing the risks of financial instability. It has been forecasted that every one percentage point boost in China’s gross domestic product results in a 0.3 percentage point rise in growth in other Asian economies, she said. 

Consequently, policymakers in China are urged to focus on further raising productivity while rebalancing the economy and shifting away from investment while moving towards more sturdy consumption-driven growth.

According to conjectures, such reforms are capable of lifting real GDP by as much as 2.5 percent by 2027, and by around 18 percent by 2037, explained. 

The China Development Forum is an annual high-level global conference held in China right after the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference each year. 

This year, the forum is taking place from March 25 up until March 27 under the theme “Economic Recovery: Opportunities and Cooperation.” 

The conference poses an opportunity for participants to connect with political, economic, and significant decision-makers in the Asian country. 

  

  


Aramco forms JV with Chinese entities to construct refinery, petchem complex 

Aramco forms JV with Chinese entities to construct refinery, petchem complex 
Updated 26 March 2023

Aramco forms JV with Chinese entities to construct refinery, petchem complex 

Aramco forms JV with Chinese entities to construct refinery, petchem complex 

RIYADH: Global energy giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co. has inked a deal with China’s Norinco Group and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group to form a joint venture to construct a refinery and petrochemical complex in the Asian giant’s Liaoning province. 

Saudi Aramco will own 30 percent stakes in the joint venture called Hujain Aramco Petrochemical Co., while Norinco Group and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group will hold 51 percent and 19 percent shares respectively, said a press release.

It noted that the facility in the city of Panjin will combine a 300,000 barrels per day refinery and a petrochemical plant with an annual production capacity of 1.65 million metric tons of ethylene and 2 million metric tons of paraxylene. 

“We see a major win-win opportunity to build a world-leading, integrated downstream sector in China, with special emphasis on the high conversion of liquids directly into chemicals as part of our broader liquid-to-chemicals business expansion plans,” said Aramco CEO Amin Nasser. 

He added: “This important project will support China’s growing demand across fuel and chemical products. It also represents a major milestone in our ongoing downstream expansion strategy in China and the wider region, which is an increasingly significant driver of global petrochemical demand.”

Aramco will supply up to 210,000 barrels per day of crude oil feedstock to the Liaoning refinery project. The construction of this new refinery will begin in the second quarter of 2023, and it is expected to be fully operational by 2026.

Norinco Group Deputy General Manager Zou Wenchao said that the new venture will “play an important role in deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia and achieving common development and prosperity.”

“The project is of great significance for Panjin to promote increasing chemicals and specialty products, strengthening the integration of the refining and chemical industry. It is a symbolic project for Panjin as it seeks to accelerate the development of an important national petrochemical and fine chemical industry base,” said Jia Fei, Panjin Xincheng chairman of the board.


Dubai Customs’ Consultative Council approves Agenda D33 to double its economy by 2033 

Dubai Customs’ Consultative Council approves Agenda D33 to double its economy by 2033 
Updated 26 March 2023

Dubai Customs’ Consultative Council approves Agenda D33 to double its economy by 2033 

Dubai Customs’ Consultative Council approves Agenda D33 to double its economy by 2033 

RIYADH: The Dubai Customs’ Consultative Council has commended the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 which aims to double Dubai’s economy under 100 transformative projects by 2033. 

The initial set of projects includes doubling Dubai’s foreign trade volume and adding 400 cities to its global trade map. 

The council also emphasized the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors to achieve these objectives. 

Members of the council noted that the agenda will enhance Dubai's competitiveness and reinforce its central position in the global economy, further solidifying its status as the preferred destination for businesses and traders. 

The council’s goal is to offer innovative and intelligent services to streamline customs procedures and facilitate traders in line with Dubai’s vision. 

Dubai Customs completed 26 million customs transactions in the first quarter of the year, representing huge growth, according to WAM. 

Dubai International Airport was the world's top airport for international passengers, with a 127 percent increase from 29.1 million passengers in 2021 to 66 million passengers in 2022.