The Group Securities: Weekly Report on QSE Performance, 15-19 April 2018

General Index Breaks Through the 9000 Points Ceiling to Settle at 9197 Points

 

QSE’s performance during the last week benefited from the momentum achieved by two key factors; the positive results of a large number of companies that disclosed their statements during the week, and the price of oil that reached US $70 per barrel. Of the 14 companies that reported their first-quarter results, all proved to be positive without any losses, with good profits for companies such as Commercial Bank, Al Rayan, Alijarah, GWC and Medicare. The general index managed to break the resistance barrier at 9000 points for the second time in two weeks, and strode firmly to settle at 9197 points. On another hand, the trading volume increased, the total capitalization gained about QR20 billion, and the profit spread increased to a multiple of 13.31.

In depth, the General Index increased by about 278 points or 3.12%, to the level of 9197 points. Al Rayan Islamic Index rose by 2.48%, as well as all Sector Indices, most noticeably Telecommunication, Services, and Banking. It has been noticed that the share price of Ezdan made the largest gain with a 14.1% hike, followed by Khaleej Takaful by 12.8%, Aamal by 8.2%, and Barwa by 7.9%, and then Doha Bank by 7.8%. In contrast, the share price of Qatar Cinema recorded the biggest loss with a 9.6% drop, followed by Zad by 8.8%, and finally Mannai by 3.1%.

Total trading volume increased by 0.48% during the week to QR1441 million, consequently the average daily trading increased to QR288.3 million. QNB led the traded shares with a volume of QR247.5 million, followed by the share of Vodafone with QR177 million, Qatar Industries with QR132.9 million, and then Doha Bank with QR80.2 million. It was noticed that Non-Qatari portfolios dominated the net purchases that amounted to QR192.1 million. Qatari portfolios, on the other hand, made net sales of QR156.3 million, while Qatari individual investors made total net sales of QR31.1 million, as for non-Qatari individuals, they made net sales of QR4.7 million. As a result, QSE’s total capitalization increased by QR20.1 billion to reach QR514 billion. P/E ratio increased to a multiple of 13.31 compared to 12.79 a week earlier.

Corporate News:

 

1.      Alijarah Holding net profit reached QR1.2 million for the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR712.4 thousand for the same period last year. The holding’s earnings per share recorded QR3, compared to QR1 for the same period in 2017. Alijarah’s total revenues increased by 5.2% in the first quarter to reach QR40.7 million, of which QR29 million were generated from major activities, compared to QR38.3 million in the corresponding period of 2017. The remaining QR11.5 million were collected from investments that did not exist a year ago. Total expenses were down QR1 million to QR43.96 million, of which QR35.6 million of operating expenses and QR8.3 million of administrative and general expenses. After adding the net financing income of QR4.5 million, the result is a net profit that gained 74% to settle at QR1.24 million.

 

2.      Qatar Islamic Insurance Co. net profit amounted to QR23.1 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR22.7 million for the same period last year. The company’s earnings per share amounted to QR1.54, versus QR1.51 for the corresponding period in 2017. Qatar Islamic Insurance gross revenue stood at QR31.7 million in the first quarter, of which QR25.5 million were generated from the agency fees. Net Takaful revenues stood at QR2.3 million, while total expenses increased slightly to QR8.5 million. The result is a net profit of QR23.1 million, an increase of 1.8% compared to the corresponding period of 2017.

 

3.      Al Rayan net profit reached QR531 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR510 million for the same period of the previous year. The bank’s earnings per share reached QR0.71 compared to QR0.68 for the corresponding period in 2017. Al Rayan's total revenue increased by 20.7% to QR1.22 billion in the first quarter of 2018. The bank’s total expenses increased by 62.4% to QR368.7 million, of which QR207.5 million were financing expenses and QR90.5 million went to personnel. Unrestricted Investment Account Holders saw a return increase of 14.2% to QR312.7 million - despite the stable balance of unrestricted investment. As a result, the net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 4.1% to QR531 million.

 

4.      GWC’s net profit amounted to QR56.7 million compared to QR50.7 million for the same period of last year. The company’s earnings per share amounted to QR0.97 compared to QR0.86 for the corresponding period in 2017. Qatar Warehousing profit increased by 25.7% to QR99.7 million in the first quarter of 2018, in addition to other revenues of about QR4.1 million. The total operating expenses increased by 16.5% to QR28.9 million, and the cost of financing increased by about 133% to QR18.1 million. As a result, the net profit increased by 12.2% to QR56.7 million.

 

5.      Medicare Group net profit amounted to QR20.45 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR17.87 million for the same period of the previous year. The Group’s earnings per share reached QR0.73, versus QR0.64 for the same period in 2017. Medicare’s gross profit increased by 1.9% to QR53.1 million in the first quarter of 2018, in addition to other income of QR3.3 million. On the other hand, general and administrative expenses increased by 8.9% to QR27.8 million. As a result, Medicare’s net profit increased by 14.5% to QR20.5 million, but the comprehensive income decreased to QR18.4 million due to losses in the fair value of securities.

 

6.      QIIB net profit reached QR253.2 million, compared to QR236.5 million for the same period last year. The bank’s earnings per share reached QR1.67, versus QR1.56 for the same period last year. QIIB’s total international revenues increased by 12.5% ​​to QR517.3 million in the first quarter of 2018, of which QR480.8 million were generated from financing and investment. On the other hand, the bank’s total expenses increased by 3% to QR125.6 million, of which QR38 million went to personnel and QR44.5 million to financing expenses. Return on investment holders increased by 35.5% to QR134.1 million - although the balance of this account increased by only 7.2% during the period. The result is a net profit increase of 7.1% to QR253.2 million.

 

7.      Commercial Bank net profit increased several multiples to QR404.69 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR91.22 million for the same period last year. The bank’s earnings per share recorded QR1, versus QR0.25 for the same period in 2017. Commercial Bank’s net operating income increased by 3.8% to QR919.2 million in the first quarter, of which QR659.2 million were generated from interest. The bank’s personnel costs decreased by 6.8% to QR176.5 million, and impairment losses of loans and advances decreased by 53.7% to QR221.7 million. After adding and subtracting other items, the resulting profit for the first quarter increased by 343.7% to QR404.7 million. It should be noted that there was a decline in the fair value of investments amounting to QR201.9 million, against a profit of QR90.7 million in the corresponding period of last year. As a result, the total income increased by 11.5% to QR202.8 million.

 

8.      Ahli Bank's net profit amounted to QR176.1 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR170 million for the same period last year. The Bank’s earnings per share reached QR0.84, versus QR0.81 for the corresponding period in 2017. The Gross revenues of Ahli Bank increased by 10.3% to QR260.9 million during the first quarter of 2018, of which QR206 million were generated from interest, while the bank’s total expenses increased by 1.3% to QR84.7 million. As a result, the net profit reached QR176.1 million, an increase of 3.6% compared to the first quarter of 2017. It should be noted that there was a fair value loss of QR4.4 million, with a decline in the total income of QR171.7 million.

 

9.      Qatar National Cement Co. net profit amounted to QR90.3 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR84.8 million for the same period last year. The company’s earnings per share recorded QR1.38, versus QR1.30 for the corresponding period of 2017. Qatar Cement gross revenues rose to QR9.7 million in the first quarter of 2018, while its total expenses decreased by 10.2% to QR9.7 million. As a result, the company's net profit increased by 6.4% to QR90.3 million. It should be noted that the change in fair value was negative by QR9.9 million, resulting in a comprehensive income of QR80.3 million.

 

10.  Qatari Investors Group net profit amounted to QR84.15 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR84.86 million for the same period of last year. The group’s earnings per share recorded QR0.68, similar to the figures of the corresponding period in 2017. The gross income of the company increased by 2.2% to QR124.6 million in the first quarter of 2018, while its total expenses rose by 5.9% to QR41 million. Consequently, the net profit fell by 0.8% to QR84.2 million. However, the change in fair value was positive by QR1 million, resulting in an increase of the comprehensive income of QR85.2 million.

 

11.  Dlala Holding net profit amounted to QR1.3 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR8.2 million for the same period last year. The holding’s earnings per share recorded QR0.05, versus QR0.29 for the corresponding period of 2017. Dlala's net income from commissions decreased by 40% to QR6 million in the first quarter of 2018, adding other revenues, the net operating income reached QR9.58 million, compared to QR15.8 million in the same period last year. Expenses, on the other hand rose by 7.9% to QR8.2 million, resulting in a net profit of QR1.38 million in this quarter, compared to QR8.2 million in the same quarter of 2017. It should be note that there was a loss of fair value of QR1.28 million, making the comprehensive income only QR108 thousand, compared to QR1.93 million made during Q1 2017.

 

12.  Doha Insurance Group's net profit amounted to QR28 million during the first quarter of 2018, compared to QR27.5 million for the same period last year. The group’s earnings per share recorded QR0.56, versus QR0.55 for the same period in 2017. Net premiums decreased by 14.1% to QR2.6 million in the first quarter, and with the cost of compensation down to QR27.3 million, the net insurance profit decreased by 8.5% to QR23.6 million. The investment income increased by 21.9% to QR1.7 million, but the total expenses increased by 10.7% to QR18.6 million. As a result, the profit attributable to shareholders recorded a 1.8% hike to QR28 million.

 

13.  Al Khaliji Commercial Bank made a net profit of QR169.49 million during Q1 2018, up 5.3% compared to last year’s first quarter net profit of QR160.94 million. The bank’s earnings per share recorded QR0.47 for period ended on 31 March 2018, versus QR0.45 for the same period in 2017.

 

14.  Doha Bank and Amwal have announced a cash dividend of QR4.25 per unit. Accordingly, as of the end of April 23, registered fund holders will receive the said cash dividend.

Economic Developments:

 

1-     Ministry of Development Planning & Statistics issued the consumer price index for March 2018, which shows a decrease in inflation to 0.4% compared to 0.8% in February 2018.

 

2-     OPEC oil increased during the previous week until Wednesday 18th April by US $1.10 to US $69.39 per barrel, compared to the previous week’s price tag of US $68.29 per barrel.

 

3-     Dow Jones index gained 135 points to the level of 24483 points until closing on Thursday. US dollar held its position at US $1.23 against the euro, and held steady once again against the yen at ¥107.61 per dollar. Gold rose by about US $5 to the level of $1344.7 per ounce.