"Forbes Middle East" revealed the strongest and most successful public companies in the Middle East for 2020. The magazine confirmed, in a statement yesterday, that the classification was prepared based on in-depth research, based on capital market data in the Arab countries for companies, analysis of market value, and sales , Assets, and earnings. According to the classification, Saudi Arabia topped the list with 33 companies, followed by the UAE represented by 21 companies. The classification showed that the Gulf Cooperation Council states accounted for 90% of the list, so Kuwait and Bahrain included seven companies in the list each, while Oman registered four companies.
Arab countries
As for the countries of North Africa, the list included five companies from Egypt and four companies from Morocco, while one Jordanian company was included in the list, the Arab Bank, and no Lebanese companies appeared in the classification, as none of them disclosed their financial statements before April 23, 2020. The banking and financial institutions sector also topped the sectors represented in the list, with 46 financial institutions, followed by the industrial sector with nine companies, while the real estate and communications sectors came in third with eight companies each.
Adaptation and continuity
Forbes Al-Omman, Forbes Middle East editor-in-chief, said that although the new Corona virus (Covid 19) has closed some companies, it has provided growth opportunities for other companies. She explained that while the market value of many of the companies included in the list has declined, yet they still show great ability to withstand, adapt and continue, in light of these difficult times.
Profits and assets
According to Forbes Middle East classification, the combined sales of companies reached $ 670 billion, net profits of $ 148 billion, while assets recorded $ 3.5 trillion, and the market value of those companies $ 2.3 trillion.
The classification pointed to the entry of the “Saudi Aramco Company”, topped by the list of the 100 most powerful companies in the Middle East, with a market value of $ 1.6 trillion, while Abu Dhabi First Bank ranked third with a market value of $ 28.7 billion.
Corporate profits
Forbes Middle East magazine reported that public companies witnessed a challenging year, as profits fell to $ 60 billion for 2019, after reaching $ 70.1 billion in the previous year, a decrease of 14% before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. Sales increased marginally to $ 340 billion, an increase of four billion dollars annually. While the market values of companies fell due to "Corona", and decreased by 26.8% from 945 million dollars to 691 million dollars, with the exception of Saudi Aramco.
Research Methodology
"Forbes Middle East" pointed out that the research team collected financial information and data and analyzed it from the consolidated financial statements of companies and Arab capital market data.
She explained that companies were classified according to criteria: market value, sales, net profit, and total assets, with equal proportional weights.
She pointed out that public companies affiliated to other companies listed on the capital markets were excluded. Companies that did not disclose their audited financial statements for the fiscal year 2019 were also excluded before April 23, 2020, while foreign exchange rates and stock closing prices were approved on March 31, 2020.