GCC earnings bounced back in Q1 as economic activity resumed

GCC earnings bounced back in Q1 as economic activity resumed

Financial earnings of listed companies in the bounced back in Q1 2021 due to a faster-than-expected economic recovery despite partial lockdowns where COVID-19 cases remerged, Kamo Invest said in a report. Quarterly net profits reached $40 billion during Q1, up 49 percent or $13.2 billion compared to $26.8 billion reported in Q1-2020. Earnings during the quarter also surpassed the comparative quarter in 2019 level by 4.4 percent. The q-o-q growth as compared to Q4-2020 was even stronger at 60 percent. Out of the 21 sectors on the exchange, 17 sectors reported y-o-y as well as q-o-q growth in profits during Q1-2021. Moreover, the top five sectors in the region reported a y-o-y profit growth of 42 percent. The Energy sector reported the biggest profits in the region at $21.4 billion, up 28 percent y-o-y and 54 percent q-o-q. Profits for was up 24 percent y-o-y during Q1 at $21 billion, whereas the rest of the companies in the sector reported profits of $591 million in in the quarter under review compared to a loss of $181 million in Q1-2020. The Banking sector also reported higher profits during the quarter at $8.4 billion; a growth of over 16 percent y-o-y and