AMMAN -- The index of the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) was unable to maintain its upward trend as profit-taking transactions dampened the share price of the heavyweight Arab Bank.
The index finished its weekly session at 6102.5 points, a decline of 0.84 per cent. Market capitalisation stood at JD32.6 billion.
The monthly bulletin of the Central Bank of Jordan revealed a decline in the budget deficit, including foreign aid, as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006. The rate stood at 4.5 per cent, equivalent to JD450 million, compared to 5.3 per cent of the GDP back in 2005 equivalent to JD744 million. Foreign aid dropped by 35.6 per cent in 2006 to JD322.1 million.
On the Amman Bourse trading floor, the average daily trading volume increased by 22.4 per cent to reach 71.3 million. Overall, decliners outnumbered advancers as 72 companies out of 178 advanced, while 95 companies declined.
In the banking sector, the board of directors of the Arab Bank entered into negotiations with a strategic investor. As such, additional shares equivalent to 10 per cent of the bank's JD365 million capital might be issued.
UAE-based Emaar Properties, expected to be the strategic investor, announced that it did not commit to anything yet. On Tuesday, Bank Med, which is majority owned by Saudi Oger, purchased 3.8 million shares of the Arab Bank in two deals amounting to JD101 million.
Bank of Jordan achieved a net income of JD52.6 million in 2006 compared to a net income of JD23.2 million in 2005, an increase of 10.2 per cent. The board of directors of the bank proposed to the general assembly a cash dividend of 8 per cent and the increase of the paid up capital from JD86 million to JD100 million through stock dividends.
In the insurance sector, preliminary results of the Islamic Insurance Company showed a decline in the company's 2006 net income to JD860,000 compared to JD1.1 million in 2005. The company had, as many other companies in the market, raised its capital during 2006 from JD3.6 million to JD8 million.
In the services sector, Jordan Real Estate Company for Development announced a net profit of JD17.3 million for 2006 compared to JD118,000 in 2005. However, JD14.9 million of this income was unrealised gains from revaluation of property. The company's share price dropped by 7.1 per cent last week to close at JD1.82.
United Financial Investment Company announced its intention to distribute 15 per cent of the company's paid up capital as cash dividends. The company's share price rose by seven per cent last week to stand at JD3.21.
The net income of Arab International for Education and Investment reached JD2.84 million last year, 55.5 per cent down from JD6.38 million in 2005. The share price of the company, which at JD130.4 million ranks 23rd in the ASE in terms of market capitalisation, declined 3.93 per cent to close at JD3.18.
In the industrial sector, the financial statements of Jordan New Cable revealed an 89.5 per cent increase in the company's revenues as they reached JD58.05 million compared to JD30.6 million in 2005. The company's net income also increased by 44.2 per cent to JD7.3 million up from JD5.06 million in 2005. The share price of the firm currently trades at a price of JD7.10 and a P/E of 13.1x.
Arab Steel Pipes Manufacturing recorded a significant decline in its net income by 62.1 per cent last year to reach JD737,000 compared to JD1.95 million in 2005.
© Jordan Times 2007
