Savola, a Saudi food producer that owns the Middle East's biggest sugar refining business, reported stronger first-half results yesterday, buoyed by a fall in global food prices.
The company, which also runs supermarkets across the kingdom and produces edible oils, was under intense pressure in the first quarter of this year from rising raw material costs. Net profit for the first quarter declined 58 per cent to 165.2 million riyals (Dh161.7m), compared with 394m riyals in the same period last year, resulting in a sharp sell-off of the group's shares.
But sales for the half-year beat analysts' expectations as food prices eased in the second quarter.
Net profit increased 11 per cent to 230m riyals compared with the same period last year. It increased 39.6 per cent compared with the first quarter.
"On a very basic level the company has been suffering because of high food prices," said Farouk Miah, an analyst at NCB Capital in Jeddah. "Profit grew strongly following a decline in selected food prices, including sugar. This was further aided by decreased operating expenses."
Food producers and suppliers have been dealing with pressure on both costs and pricing this year, as the Saudi government indicated that companies cannot raise sale prices by significant amounts, despite global increases in raw material costs.
The global price of sugar hit a high in January of 29.7 US cents a pound before falling 27 per cent in the months up to May and rising again last month.
Sales at Savola grew 29 per cent to 6.3 billion riyals in the first half, which the company attributed to an increase in market share in its retail and food divisions.
According to Savola, the company has a 62 per cent share of the Saudi edible oils market and 68 per cent of the sugar market through its 113 supermarkets and hypermarkets in the kingdom. Savola's strong sales performance was achieved despite widespread regional unrest, particularly in its Egyptian sugar business.
The company's shares were slightly off in trading yesterday at 25.7 riyals. "We have been neutral on Savola since the end of 2009 due to our concerns on the exposure to global commodities and non-core businesses," Mr Miah said.
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Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Six pitfalls to avoid when trading company stocks
Following fashion
Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.
Losing your balance
You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.
Being over active
If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.
Running your losers
Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.
Selling in a panic
If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.
Timing the market
Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mobile phone packages comparison