By Santhosh V Perumal
Business Reporter
Robust gains by banks and industries masked the poor showing by insurance and services on the Qatar Exchange. The listed companies, however, strengthened their net profitability in the first quarter (Q1) of this year.
The listed companies’ cumulative net profit stood at QR9bn in Q1 compared to QR7.99bn in the previous-year period, according to Qatar Exchange data
In the stock market, all four sectors displayed weak performance with services and insurance underperforming the key index during the January-March period.
The listed companies’ cumulative net profit stood at QR9bn in Q1 compared to QR7.99bn in the previous-year period, according to Qatar Exchange data. But, the QE’s 20-stock benchmark had fallen 2.60% quarter-to-date in the first three months of this year.
The banks group, which consists of eight entities, saw a healthy 24% growth to QR3.56bn in Q1 2011 compared to a marginal gain of 3% in the year-ago period. The growth in net profitability ranged from 7% to 105%. The sector’s share in total cumulative net profits was 39.55% this year against 35.92% in the comparable period of 2010.
The banking index had fallen 2.25% during the first three months of this year vis-à-vis the general index fall of 2.25%.
The industrial sector, which comprises seven listed companies, reported a robust 60% jump in their cumulative net profit to QR2.45bn in Q1 compared to a fall of 11% in 2010. The sector’s share in total cumulative net profit stood at 27.22% in January-March this year against 19.15% in the year-ago period.
Among the industries, one of them posted net loss, while the growth in net profits of other entities ranged from 2% to 72%.
The industrial sector witnessed the slowest fall of 1.08% in its index on Qatar’s bourse.
The services sector, which has 22 companies, witnessed a 17% decline in net profit to QR2.67bn in Q1 this year compared to a healthy 57% surge in the previous-year quarter. The services’ share in total cumulative profit stood at 29.67% against a high of 40.30% in Q1 2010.
Within the services sector, seven companies reported slippage in net profits, with a maximum of 99% and a minimum of 7%. However, those companies that reported gains were in the range of 2%-301%. Vodafone Qatar was not taken into account as it followed the April-March financial year compared to others with the January-December format.
The services sector, which dominates the 20-stock QE benchmark, reported the maximum fall of 3.75% in its index in the Q1 this year.
The insurance segment, which has five listed companies, witnessed a 12% slump in cumulative net profit to QR322.46mn in the first three months of this year compared to a 19% growth in the previous-year period. The sector’s contribution to total cumulative net profit was 3.56% in Q1 against 4.53% last year.
Within the sector, three of them reported declines in the range of 6%-52%; while the other two reported gains to the tune of 4%-50%.
The insurance sector, which relatively has the low weight in the QE index, declined by 3.71% in January-March this year.
