Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index wrapped up Monday’s trading session at 12,369.46 points, witnessing an increase of 137.92 points, or 1.13 percent.     

The parallel market, Nomu, ended the day at 26,227.72 points, shedding 3.11 points or 0.01 percent.    

Conversely, the MSCI Tadawul Index grew by 24.35 points to close at 1,569.81, a 1.58 percent increase.     

TASI reported a trading volume of SR8.2 billion ($2.19 billion), with 165 stocks making gains and 63 witnessing declines.    

Nomu, on the other hand, saw a trading volume of SR52 million.     

On the announcement front, Al Rajhi Bank reported an increase in profits to SR4.4 billion for the first quarter of 2024, reflecting a 6 percent rise from SR4.1 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2023. 

The bank primarily attributed this growth to a 10.2 percent increase in net income from financing and investment activities, driven by a rise in total income on financing and investment.  

This was further supported by an increase in total returns on these investments, according to a bourse filing.  

Its operational income also saw a healthy increase, rising by 6.6 percent due to gains in net financing and investment income alongside income from other operations.   

However, these gains were partially offset by a decrease in income from banking service fees and foreign currency exchange activities.  

On the expenditure side, total operating expenses, including provisions for credit losses, rose by 7.2 percent. This increase was largely due to higher depreciation costs and employee salaries and benefits.  

Despite these rising costs, the bank managed to mitigate some financial pressures with a reduction in other general and administrative expenses. Notably, provisions for credit losses escalated significantly, from SR359 million in the previous year to SR421 million in 2024, reflecting a 17.3 percent increase.  

Furthermore, Bank Albilad also saw an increase in profits as it released its first quarter results.   

The bank reported a 15 percent increase in profits, reaching SR643.1 million up from SR559.9 million in the same quarter of the previous year, according to a bourse filing.  

The increase in profits was primarily attributed to a robust performance in its investment and financing assets, which saw a 21 percent increase in income.   

This significant growth in asset income helped offset the 54 percent rise in the return on deposits and financial liabilities, underlining the bank’s effective management of its asset portfolio against rising costs.  

Additionally, Saudi National Bank also managed to secure an increase in profits in the first quarter. The bank reported a marginal rise in its profits to SR5.04 billion from SR5.02 billion during the same period last year.  

This modest increase in profits was underpinned by a significant 21.9 percent rise in special commission income, driven largely by growth in the bank’s financing and investment portfolios, coupled with rising interest rates.   

The bank also experienced a slight 0.4 percent increase in net income attributable to shareholders, buoyed by a 2.4 percent improvement in total operating income and gains from other non-operational financial activities.  

However, petrochemical company Saudi Kayan reported a loss in its first quarter results. Despite the ongoing challenges, the company managed to reduce its losses to SR571.9 million from SR673.3 million in the same quarter the previous year.  

Saudi Kayan attributed the narrowed losses primarily to an increase in revenues, spurred by higher sales volumes, which helped counterbalance the impact of lower average product selling prices.   

In a Tadawul filing, the company noted that while the average selling prices had decreased, the overall financial performance improved compared to the previous year.