DUBAI: Savola reported a year-over-year decline in net profit as sales and margins in the retail sector fell, it received a smaller share of profit from associates and operating expenses increased.
First-quarter net profit slipped 11 percent to SR153.8 million ($41 million) from a year earlier, the Jeddah-based food group said in a filing to the stock exchange. However, profits surged from SR44.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 when it wrote down the value of some of its assets amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Profit per share was SR290,000, down from SR320,000, while total shareholder equity after deducting minority equity was SR8.51 billion, an increase of 11.79 percent from a year earlier.
Savola said on Thursday it approved a cash dividend of SR400.5 million, or SR0.75 per share, to be distributed on May 24. The company also approved the buyback of 1.2 million shares to cover the second and third tranches of the Employees Long Term Incentive Plan.
The company behind some of the Kingdom’s best known supermarket brands saw a 92 percent jump in profits last year driven by rising demand for frozen foods.
Savola net profit declines as sales, margins decrease
https://arab.news/6fvqz
Savola net profit declines as sales, margins decrease
- Savola approved a cash dividend of SR400.5 million
- Follows a bumper year of frozen food sales in 2020
Saudi stock market opens its doors to foreign investors
RIYADH: Foreigners will be able to invest directly in Saudi Arabia’s stock market from Feb. 1, the Kingdom’s Capital Market Authority has announced.
The CMA’s board has approved a regulatory change which will mean the capital market, across all its segments, will be accessible to investors from around the world for direct participation.
According to a statement, the approved amendments aim to expand and diversify the base of those permitted to invest in the Main Market, thereby supporting investment inflows and enhancing market liquidity.
International investors' ownership in the capital market exceeded SR590 billion ($157.32 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2025, while international investments in the main market reached approximately SR519 billion during the same period — an annual rise of 4 percent.
“The approved amendments eliminated the concept of the Qualified Foreign Investor in the Main Market, thereby allowing all categories of foreign investors to access the market without the need to meet qualification requirements,” said the CMA, adding: “It also eliminated the regulatory framework governing swap agreements, which were used as an option to enable non-resident foreign investors to obtain economic benefits only from listed securities, and the allowance of direct investment in shares listed on the Main Market.”
In July, the CMA approved measures to simplify the procedures for opening and operating investment accounts for certain categories of investors. These included natural foreign investors residing in one of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as well as those who had previously resided in the Kingdom or in any GCC country.
This step represented an interim phase leading up to the decision announced today, with the aim of increasing confidence among participants in the Main Market and supporting the local economy.
Saudi Arabia, which is more than halfway through an economic plan to reduce its dependence on oil, has been trying to attract foreign investors, including by establishing exchange-traded funds with Asian partners in Japan and Hong Kong.
