SHANGHAI: Apple sold fewer than half a million smartphones in China in February, government data showed on Monday, as the coronavirus outbreak halved demand for all such devices.
China placed curbs on travel and asked residents to avoid public places in late January, just ahead of the Lunar New Year festival, a major gift-giving holiday. Those restrictions stayed largely in place through most of February.
In total, mobile phone brands shipped a total of 6.34 million devices in February, down 54.7 percent from 14 million in the same month last year, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed (CAICT).
It was also the lowest level for February since at least 2012, when CAICT started publishing data.
Android brands, which include devices made by Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi, accounted for most of the drop, as they collectively saw shipments decline from 12.72 million units in February 2019 to 5.85 million, the data showed.
Shipments of Apple devices slumped to 494,000, from 1.27 million in February 2019. In January, its shipments had held steady at just over 2 million.
Research firms IDC and Canalys previously forecast that overall smartphone shipments would drop by about 40 percent in the first quarter as the virus outbreak hit demand and brought supply-chain problems.
Apple’s branded stores in China were shut for at least two weeks in February as fears over the coronavirus outbreak mounted.
The company’s chief executive, Tim Cook, wrote a letter to investors that month warning it would not meet its initial revenue guidance for the current quarter due to demand issues.
Coronavirus scare: Apple sells fewer than 500,000 smartphones in China in February
https://arab.news/2p8z9
Coronavirus scare: Apple sells fewer than 500,000 smartphones in China in February
- Residents asked to avoid public places in late January, just ahead of the Lunar New Year festival, a major gift-giving holiday
- Apple’s branded stores in China were shut for at least two weeks in February
Closing Bell: Saudi main index extends gains as market opens wider to foreign investment
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Monday, gaining 153.61 points, or 1.38 percent, to close at 11,321.09.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR5.85 billion ($1.56 billion), as 207 of the listed stocks advanced, while 55 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index increased, up 21.20 points or 1.41 percent, to close at 1,524.18.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 278.13 points, or 1.17 percent, to close at 24,013.03. This comes as 43 of the listed stocks advanced, while 29 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corp., with its share price surging by 7.26 percent to SR28.94.
Other top performers included Rasan Information Technology Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.51 percent to SR144, and Knowledge Economic City, which saw a 6.25 percent increase to SR13.09.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was Najran Cement Co., whose share price fell by 2.11 percent to SR6.49.
Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. and Saudi Cable Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 2 percent and 1.88 percent to SR103.10 and SR166.80, respectively.
On the announcement front, Riyad Bank has announced its annual financial results for 2025, with the total income from special commission of financing reaching SR24.1 billion, while net income from special commission of financing amounted to SR12 billion.
In a statement on Tadawul, the bank said: “Net income increased by 11.7 percent mainly due to an increase in total operating income and a decrease in total operating expenses.”
The bank further noted that the rise in total operating income was primarily driven by increased revenue from fees and commissions, trading activities, special commissions, gains on non-trading investments, and other operating sources. This growth was partially tempered by declines in exchange and dividend income.
“Net provision of expected credit losses and other losses decreased by 15.8 percent due to a decrease in impairment charge of credit losses and impairment charge for other financial assets, partially offset by an increase in impairment charge for investments,” it added.
RIBL’s share price closed at SR18.18 on the main market, marking a 1.43 percent increase.
