Aggregate net profits reported by firms on GCC exchanges experienced a robust year-on-year (YoY) increase of 5.7 percent in Q2-2024, driven by widespread growth across most regional markets.
Kuwait-based non-banking financial institution Kamco Invest highlighted in its latest report that the quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth reached 8.1 percent, with total net profits rising for the second consecutive quarter to $60.7 billion in Q2-2024, compared to $56.2 billion in Q1-2024 and $57.4 billion in Q2-2023.
Regionally, Dubai recorded the second-highest YoY profit growth (following Bahrain) at 30.9 percent, reaching $6.7 billion in Q2-2024, primarily due to accounting adjustments and restructuring efforts by DSI.
Sector-specific growth trends
The report noted that firms in Bahrain also achieved double-digit YoY profit growth during the quarter, while other GCC nations experienced low to mid-single-digit increases. The overall profit growth highlighted a widespread double-digit rise across various sectors within the GCC.
Key sector performance
Key sectors such as Banks and Telecom reported profit growth of 10.8 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively, while the Materials and Real Estate sectors demonstrated even more impressive growth at 45.6 percent and 23.9 percent, respectively. The Capital Goods sector saw a remarkable 68.3 percent increase in profits, largely attributed to accounting adjustments related to DSI.
For the first half of 2024, net profits for GCC-listed firms remained nearly flat, with a slight increase of 0.1 percent to $116.9 billion, compared to $116.8 billion in H1 2023.
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Mixed trends across countries
This modest growth reflected mixed trends at the country level, as entities listed in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi reported declines in net profits of 2.7 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. However, these declines were offset by higher total profits from other countries in the region.
The report concluded that Dubai once again led with the highest YoY growth of 20.0 percent during H1 2024.
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