The Qatar Stock Exchange witnessed its listed companies cumulatively report net profit of QR10.49bn in the first three months of this year with banking and industrials sectors contributing about 74% to the overall kitty.

The cumulative net profitability is, however, down more than 4% year-on-year in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019 against about 3% growth in the comparable period of 2018, according to Qatar Stock Exchange data.

The banks and financial services sector, which has 13 listed constituents, reported a 3.96% rise in cumulative net profit to QR6.17bn compared to 12.24% growth in the comparable period of 2018. The sector contributed 58.81% in the overall net profitability.

The industrials sector, which has 10 listed constituents, witnessed a 34.27% plunge in net profitability to QR1.57bn against 28.01% increase in the year-ago period. The sector contributed 14.97% to the overall net profitability of the listed entities.

The lackadaisical performance of the industrials sector, along with the slowdown especially in the earnings of the banking sector, is seen as a matter of concern by market sources.

The realty segment, which has four listed entities, saw steep gains with net earnings surging 18.06% to QR0.85bn in the first three months of this year compared to a 56.87% decline in the year-ago period. The sector constituted 8.1% of the overall net profitability in the review period.

The transport sector, which has three listed companies, recorded an 8.16% expansion in cumulative net profit to QR0.57bn in Q1, 2019 compared to 11.53% growth in the corresponding period of 2018. The sector contributed a 5.43% to the overall net profitability in January-March 2019.

The consumer goods sector, which has nine listed entities, witnessed a marginal 0.32% decline in cumulative net profit to QR0.52bn in the first quarter of 2019 compared to a 25.38% expansion in the previous year period. The sector contributed 4.95% to the overall net profitability in the review period.

The insurance sector, which has five listed companies, reported a marginal 0.35% jump in cumulative net profit to QR0.34bn in Q1, 2019 compared to a 16.24% fall in the previous-year period. The sector contributed a 3.24% to the overall net profitability of the listed companies.

The telecom sector saw its net profit down 7.85% to QR0.46bn in January-March 2019.The sector contributed 4.39% to overall net profit in the review period.