Saudi petrochemical companies incurred big losses during the first six months of this year, while profits of UAE companies and banks declined, amid a decline in most of the Gulf market indices.
According to data reported by the Arqaam website, which specializes in economic affairs, the petrochemical companies listed in the Saudi market recorded losses estimated at 7 billion riyals (the US dollar equals approximately 3.74 Saudi riyals) by the end of the first half of 2020, compared to the profits of the same period of the previous year, which amounted to 6.4 billion riyals.
These are the third quarterly losses in a row, at a time when the oil sector is affected by the repercussions of the Corona virus on global demand, which pushed crude prices to low levels.
According to Arqaam website data, Saudi petrochemical companies incurred losses amounting to 3.8 billion riyals in the second quarter only.
The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation "SABIC" topped the list of losing companies after it announced a net loss of 2.2 billion riyals in the second quarter of this year.
The Saudi transport sector companies incurred losses of about 247 million riyals during the second quarter of this year, compared to profits of 180 million riyals in the same quarter of last year. The results of these companies were affected by the repercussions of the Corona virus.
The combined profits of joint stock companies listed in the Saudi market decreased by 76%, to about 27 billion riyals during the second quarter of this year.
Saudi stocks fell at the beginning of trading today, Wednesday, after a group of companies' business results that disappointed expectations, before the market closed later, slightly higher, by 0.2%. The Saudi index ended Tuesday's session down by 0.2%.
UAE banks
The combined profits of banks listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange at the end of the first half of this year decreased to 7.26 billion dirhams, a decrease of 35% compared to profits of 11.23 billion dirhams achieved during the same period of 2019.
Profits of First Abu Dhabi Bank - the largest bank in the UAE and the second largest in the Gulf - fell by 24% to reach 4.82 billion dirhams by the end of the first half of 2020, which is equivalent to more than 66% of the total net profits of the sector during the current period.
In Dubai, the combined profits of companies listed on the Dubai Financial Market decreased to 5.3 billion dirhams at the end of the second quarter of 2020 compared to 11 billion dirhams achieved during the same period in 2019, with a decrease of 52%.
The Dubai Financial Market fell at the close today by 0.67%, and the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange closed down by 0.63%.
Abu Dhabi raised $ 5 billion through a three-tier bond offering on Tuesday, the third step the oil-rich Gulf emirate has taken in global bond markets this year to shore up its finances after the fall in crude oil prices.
In Qatar, the stock market index trimmed its losses to close down by 0.1%, at a time when the banking and financial services sector witnessed a rise of 0.16%. In Kuwait, the stock market closed up about 0.4%.