RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index on Sunday gained 7.28 points — or 0.07 percent — to close at 10,419.44.
While MSCI Tadawul 30 Index also ended flat at 1,424.75, the parallel market Nomu closed 0.88 percent higher at 19,536.84.
TASI’s total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR2.69 billion ($720 million) as 95 stocks of the listed 224 advanced and 105 receded.
Al-Jouf Agricultural Development Co. was the best performer, as its share price surged 8.85 percent to SR49.20.
The other top performers were Americana Restaurants International, Al Gassim Investment Holding Co. and Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Co — all three soared by over 6 percent.
In fact, Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Co.’s board of directors, on Sunday, informed the stock exchange that it declared a 27.5 percent cash dividend or SR2.75 per share for the fourth quarter of 2022, totaling SR247.5 million.
However, the worst-performing stock of the day was Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co., which slipped 5.67 percent to SR16.98.
Other poor performers were Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co., Alamar Foods Co., Abdulmohsen Alhokair Group for Tourism and Development and Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Co.
Among sectoral indices, 12 of the 21 listed on the stock exchange advanced while the rest declined.
On the announcements front, Banque Saudi Fransi reported a 4 percent increase in net profit for 2022 to SR3.57 billion from SR3.44 billion in the year-earlier period.
The higher profit was driven mainly by a 12.47 percent rise in total operating income, which was partly offset by an increase in total operating expenses by 21.97 percent.
BSF, however, reported a 9 percent decline in its net profit during the fourth quarter of 2022 to SR902.60 million from SR993.27 million a year earlier. Its share price closed marginally higher at SR36.75.
Tanmiah Food Co. reported a whooping net profit after zakat and tax of SR186.8 million compared to SR13.6 million in the year-earlier period.
The annual net profit includes a one-off gain of SR101.9 million due to the strategic partnership with Tyson Foods.
Tyson Foods acquired a 60 percent equity stake in Supreme Foods Processing Co, and the gain on the disposal of a 15 percent equity stake in Agricultural Development Co. to Tyson Foods, at SR74 million, was recorded directly in equity.
Revenue increased 42.8 percent to SR1.72 billion, in line with the continued rise in sales across the company’s diversified portfolio of products and services. Tanmiah’s share price, however, fell slightly to SR124.
Saudi Azm for Communication and Information Technology Co. also reported 38 percent in net profit after zakat and tax to SR 11.1 million for the first half ended Dec. 31, 2022, from SR8 million in the year-ago period.
The profit rise came from an overall increase in revenue by 40.50 percent year on year, where all other costs were consistent with higher revenue, the company said in a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange. The company’s share price fell 2.17 percent to finish at SR180.
