Unified platform for transport and logistics sector to accelerate Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation  

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR5.91 billion ($1.58 billion) as 73 of the listed 228 stocks declined, while 143 advanced.

Saudi Arabia’s parallel market Nomu also witnessed a downward trend as it slipped by 555.54 points to 24,500.64.

The MSCI Tadawul Index dropped by 1.33 percent to close at 1,534.80.

The best-performing stock of the day was Arabian Drilling. The company’s share price soared by 7.17 percent to SR176.40.

Other top performers of the day were Maharah Human Resources Co. and Almunajem Foods Co. whose share prices edged up by 4.75 percent and 4.32 percent, respectively.

The worst performer was Takween Advanced Industries Co. as its share price dropped by 6.75 percent to SR17.12.

On the announcements front, First Milling Co. reported its interim financial results for the first half of this year. In a Tadawul statement, the company revealed that its net profit narrowed in the first half of 2023 to SR108.7 million, down 19 percent, compared to SR133.7 million in the same period of the previous year.

The firm’s net profit for the second quarter dipped by 43 percent to SR34.9 million in the second quarter of 2022.

“While we acknowledge the challenges to net profit in the second quarter of 2023, we believe we have the suitable strategy and execution plan in place to deliver on our key projects — such as the PESA Mill, the Pre-Mix Plant, Durum Mill, and Mill C expansion in the Jeddah Plant — which we collectively expect to increase our capacity, boost our product variety, and have a positive long term financial impact,” said Abdullah Ababtain, CEO of First Milling Co., also known as First Mills.

Driven by the decline in net profit, First Milling Co.’s share price fell by 2.84 percent to SR88.90.

Another company which announced its financial results was Leejam Sports Co. The firm reported a 64.76 percent rise in net profit to SR135.1 million, compared to SR82 million in the same period a year ago.

In a Tadawul statement, it attributed the rise to an increase in subscriptions and membership revenues, which soared by 26 percent in the first half of the year. The company’s share price edged up by 2.36 percent to SR147.40.

Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co. reported a decline in net profit in the first half to SR29.69 million, down 13.59 percent compared to SR34.36 million in the same period of 2022. On Monday, the firm’s share prices dropped by 0.91 percent to SR32.50.

Another company which announced its financial results was Methanol Chemicals Co., also known as Chemanol. The company reported a net loss of SR59.03 million in the first half against a net profit of SR194.83 million in the same period of the previous year.

In a Tadawul statement, Chemanol said that it turned into loss during the first half of 2022 due to a decline in the average selling prices of the company’s products, along with the slowdown in demand for certain products during the current period. The company’s share price edged down by 1.21 percent to SR24.48.