Qatar- QSE benchmark index gained 6.8% in April

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) SATISH KANADY / THE PENINSULA

After witnessing the lowest declines in March 2020 in the GCC, Qatar stock market retraced higher in April, as the QSE-20 index went up by 6.8 percent month-on-month.The Qatar All Share index which maps the broader market moved up by 6.9 percent, as all sectors closed in the green for the month.

The Kamco Invest's 'GCC Markets Monthly Report noted QSE's transportation and Telecoms indices were the best performers as they jumped by 18.7 percent and 12.8 percent respectively M-o-M. All Transportation names were up by double digits in percentage terms, led by Qatar Gas Transport (+19.1 percent) and Qatar Navigation (+18.8 percent). Industrials and Real Estate also gained by 11.5 percent and 7.5 percent respectively, as GISS (+33.1 percent) and Ezdan (+40.3 percent) were top performers in their respective sectoral indices.

In ratings action, Capital Intelligence Ratings affirmed its ratings of Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) at ‘A' with a stable outlook ascribed to QIIB's strong deposit base, its assets are characterized by quality, and enjoys strong profitability, good capitalizations and continued operating efficiency gains, as the credit concentrations in its real estate sector are declining. In earnings releases, Ooredoo reported Q1-20 growth in revenues of 1 percent y-o-y that reached QR7.3bn, supported by robust growth in Indonesia, Tunisia, Myanmar and other markets, which was partially offset by a COVID-19 impact, a reduction in handset sales and macroeconomic weakness in some of our other markets. Group net profit attributable to Ooredoo shareholders declined by 8 percent y-o-y to QR387m in Q1-20, compared to the same period last year, due to the reduction in EBITDA which was partially offset by a more f a v o r a b l e F X r a t e environment.

Separately, GISS saw its Q1-20 group revenues grow by 16 percent y-o-y, to reach QR832 m, driven by growth across all the business segments. Net profit in Q1-20 came in at QR8.7m, a reduction of 65 percent compared to Q1-19, mainly due to the improved top line performance and marginally reduced direct costs. Vodafone Qatar on the other hand reported a Q1-20 net profit of QR48m, representing an increase of 10 percent y-o-y. Revenues for Vodafone increased by 1 percent y-o-y to reach QR541m, as number of customers serviced reached 1.73million, and growth was achieved in the company's Postpaid and Fixed Broadband services (GigaHome).

Service Revenue grew by 7.2 percent to reach QR508m. Vodafone Qatar is now serving 1.73 million mobile customers. Trading activity was mixed during Apr-20 as value traded decreased by 22.6 percent M-o-M, to reach QR6.4bn as compared to QR8.2bnduring Mar-20, while volumes traded increased by 26.1 percent to reach 3.9billion shares in April-20, as against 3.1billion shares in the month prior.

The Banks & Financial Services sector was the most active in terms of value traded during April, accounting for 32.2 percent of the total value traded, followed by Real Estate and Industrials sectors, as they accounted for 20.1 percent and 19.7 percent of the total value traded respectively.

In terms of trading activity, QNB topped the monthly value traded chart with QR939m worth of shares traded, followed by Ezdan Holding and Mesaieed Petrochemicals recording QR746m and QR338m in monthly value traded. Qatar German for Medical Devices was the top performing stock in the index for the month as its share price more than doubled (+130 percent).

Qatar Oman Investment Company followed with gains of 52.5 percent M-o-M. On the other hand, shares of Barwa Real Estate witnessed the most declines, losing 4.7 percent M-o-M. Qatar Fuel and Qatar Insurance followed with declines of 4.1 percent and 3.5 percent for the month.

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