MA’ADEN-

Mining giant Ma’aden’s net income more than doubled y-o-y to SAR 981.7 mn in 1Q 2024 mainly on the back of higher sales and lower costs of raw materials, it said in its earnings release (pdf). Revenues were down 8.7% y-o-y during the quarter to SAR 7.4 bn due to lower commodity prices except for gold and alumina.

It was a busy quarter for Ma’aden: Some of Ma’aden’s key highlights during the quarter were the start of full operations at the Kingdom’s largest gold mine, Mansourah Massarah, with an annual production capacity of 250k ounces of gold. The company also focused on drilling for new gold finds in Uruq south of its gold mine. It also unveiled with California-based solar startup GlassPoint building the world’s largest industrial solar thermal project in Ras Al Kheir to decarbonize the company’s aluminum supply chain. The first phase of the project could supply nine tons of steam per hour.

And since then: Manara Minerals — a JV between Ma’aden and the PIF — completed earlierthis month the acquisition of a 10% stake in Brazilian miner Vale Base Metals. Manara is 51% owned by Ma’aden, and 49% owned by PIF. The transaction is worth an estimated USD 2.6 bn, based on a USD 26 bn enterprise value the Brazilian mining giant had previously disclosed. Ma’aden also completed a SAR 5.6 bn transaction earlier in May which saw it up its stake in Ma’aden Wa’ad Al Shamal Phosphate — its JV with the Mosaic Company and Sabic — to 85% after it purchased Mosaic’s entire 25% stake.

ADES HOLDING-

Ades Holding’s net income rose 124.6% to SAR 200.8 mn in 1Q 2024, and its revenues rose 60.5% y-o-y to SAR 1.5 bn, according to its earnings release (pdf). “New awards were broadly secured at higher daily rates compared to Ades’ current offshore average daily rates, translating into a favorable impact on overall profitability,” CEO Mohamed Farouk said. The Egypt-born company had a total backlog of SAR 26.8 bn as of 31 March 2024.

Business is concentrated in the Saudi segment: The oil and gas giant attributed growth in its top line to booking more business in the Kingdom, fueled by the deployment of 19 rigs as part of a large tender.

New business abroad: Growth was also supported by a 3x increase in operational rigs in Kuwait to a total of 10, along with a new rig going live in India, and another in Algeria. The quarter also marked the company’s entry into its ninth market of operation — Thailand — with an 18-month contract.

Rig suspensions are well cushioned: “We were largely successful in mitigating the impact of the temporary suspensions in Saudi Arabia,” Farouk added, saying that suspended contracts will be extended to compensate for the suspension period.

Partially offsetting the suspensions: The Tadawul-listed company’s total number of operating rigs rose 47% y-o-y to 75 in 1Q 2024, on the back of new deployments in Egypt, Qatar, and Thailand, reducing the number of total suspended rigs to only two, down from five.

ABDULLAH AL OTHAIM MARKETS-

Grocery chain owner Abdullah Al Othaim’s net income declined 3% y-o-y to SAR 116.4 mn in 1Q 2024 on the back of higher costs from new store openings and the drop on performance of subsidiaries among other factors, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday. Meanwhile, revenues grew 9% y-o-y over the same period to SAR 3 bn due to higher sales from existing and new stories. The board approved disbursing SAR 135 mn in dividends for the period at SAR 0.15 per share, according to a separate disclosure. Payment is due on Wednesday, 12 June.

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