Telecom shares attracted investors' attention in MSX weekly trading

Muscat: Telecom shares attracted investors in last week's trading on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), accounting for 45 per cent of the total trading value witnessed by the stock exchange during the week.

This turnout came in conjunction with Omantel's announcement on Thursday of its preliminary financial results for the first half of this year, which indicated the stability of its profits in the local market at the levels of the same period last year. Omantel said that the net profits of local operations for the first half of this year amounted to OMR39.8 million compared to OMR40.2 million in the same period last year.

The company said that despite the intense competition in both the mobile and fixed sectors, Omantel maintained the level of net profit at levels similar to the previous year as a result of the continuous growth in revenues from postpaid and fixed broadband services as well as lower financing costs.

The trading value of Omantel shares last week amounted to OMR3.32 million, representing 33.9 percent of the total trading value. The company's share rose in Thursday’s trading to OMR1.110, but it reduced its gains at the end of the session and concluded the weekly trading at one riyal, up by one baisa during the week. On Thursday, Omantel said that its board of directors decided to distribute interim dividends of 5 baisas per share to shareholders as of August 31, as mandated by the annual ordinary general meeting held in late March.

Ooredoo shares witnessed transactions worth OMR1.10 million, representing 11.1 percent of the total value of trading witnessed by the stock exchange last week compared to OMR9.7 million in the same period last year. The company attributed this decline to higher costs related to hardware sales and IT sales.

Last week's trading was marked by the focus of investors on the shares of Omantel, Ooredoo, Bank Muscat, Abraj Energy Services, and Bank Muscat's first-class permanent bonds. The five securities accounted for 79 percent of the total trading value witnessed by the stock exchange last week.

The weekly trading data issued by the Muscat Stock Exchange showed a 35 percent decline in the value of trading last week, falling to OMR 9.8 million, compared to OMR15.1 million in the previous week, and the number of transactions executed decreased by 15 percent from 1,881 transactions to 1,598.

These declines came at a time when local investment institutions reduced their purchases during the past week to OMR7.4 million, compared to purchases worth OMR12.2 million in the previous week.

Last week, the main index of the Stock Exchange recorded a decline of 26 points and closed at 4,757 points. The financial sector index recorded the highest losses, declining by about 94 points, the industrial sector index fell by 27 points while the services sector index rose by 7 points. The Sharia index recorded an increase of five points.

The past week witnessed an increase in the prices of 14 securities, led by Shell Oman Marketing, Al Suwadi Energy and Oman Chrome, and 26 securities recorded a decline, most notably Majan College, Al Ahli Bank and Taajeer Finance, while 17 securities remained unchanged at their previous levels.

Last week, the Muscat Stock Exchange recorded gains in its market capitalisation and reached OMR29.5 million, benefiting from the increase in the market value of the companies listed in the parallel market, which recorded remarkable increases. - ONA