Jordan Times
Sunday, May 6, 2007
weekly analysis: Amman Stock
Exchange
AMMAN — Last week was a short one as Sunday was a public holiday marking Labour
Day. The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) price index fluctuated in narrow ranges
during the week as investors showed varying reactions to companies’ first
quarter earnings.
In a press release, ASE Chief Executive Officer Jalil Tarif indicated that 83
out of 94 companies listed on the first market disclosed their first quarter
results by the Monday deadline which was set by the ASE.
The ASE index finished the weekly trading session at 5973.6 points failing to
break the 6000-point psychological barrier and closing by an overall
insignificant increase of 0.07 per cent. Market capitalisation grew steadily to
reach JD22.99 billion; up by 0.35 per cent for the week.
The services sector index posted the largest increase of 2.2 per cent.
Specialised Investment Compounds was the market’s top gainer recording a 19.4
per cent rise in share price to close at JD5.17.
On the trading floor, 49.8 million shares exchanged hands and the average daily
trading value increased by 49.8 per cent to JD31.828 million.
Four block deals, amounting to JD2.95 million, were executed on 1.6 million
shares of the United Company for Organising Land Transport.
One block deal on shares of Specialised Investment Compounds and two block deals
on shares of Int’l Arabian Development and Investment Trading were also executed
for JD2.87 million and JD412,000 respectively.
Overall, advancers outnumbered decliners as 95 companies out of 175 advanced,
while 68 declined.
According to the companies’ Comptroller Department, the number of new companies
that registered during the first four months of this year declined 4.6 per cent
to 3247 new firms compared to 3403 companies during the same period last year.
Investments in registered companies during the period dropped by 7 per cent to
JD295 million compared to JD318 million a year earlier. In terms of registered
foreign investments, Iraq ranked first in the first four months with around
JD28.8 million.
Trading volume in the real estate market during the first four months of this
year increased by a significant 21 per cent to JD1.9 billion. This news
coincided with the launch of the second annual Property Link exhibition and
conference on Wednesday.
Arab Bank Group reported $185 million net profit during the first quarter of
2007, a growth of 24.1 per cent. The bank’s balance sheet grew to $33.3 billion.
The share price of Arab Bank closed at JD23.80 down by 1.04 per cent.
The Housing Bank for Trade and Finance reported net profit of JD24.2 million
after tax and minority interest for the first quarter of this year, a rise of
19.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. The share price of Housing
Bank remained unchanged for the week closing at JD6.34.
Net profit rose by 33.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year at Union Bank
for Saving and Investment to JD5.1 million, compared to JD3.9 million during the
same period last year. The bank’s share price closed at JD3.57 up by 6.57 per
cent.
Arab American Takaful Insurance reported net profit of JD508,000 for the first
quarter of 2007, compared to JD26,500 during the same period last year. the
company’s share price increased by 10.84 per cent to close at JD1.84.
Jordan Telecom Group achieved 32.9 per cent growth in net profit reaching JD24.7
million for the first quarter of this year, compared to JD18.6 million in the
same period of 2006. The share price of Jordan Telecom ended the week at JD4.44
up by a slight 0.45 per cent.
Jordan Petroleum Refinery reported net profit of JD1.524 million for the first
quarter of this year, compared to JD1.585 million during the same period last
year. The company’s share price dropped by 4.58 per cent to close at JD5.42.