{"id":99391,"date":"2025-08-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2025\/08\/05\/its-aramco-earnings-day\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T00:00:00","slug":"its-aramco-earnings-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2025\/08\/05\/its-aramco-earnings-day\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Aramco earnings day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, wonderful people.<\/strong> We would say it\u2019s not a particularly busy day here in the Kingdom, if it weren\u2019t for earnings season being in full swing \u2014 with more to come in the days ahead. Besides the flurry of earnings reports, we lead our news well this morning with the latest IMF Article IV consultations on the Saudi economy, as well as a recap of the Capital Markets Authority\u2019s 2024 annual report. <\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY-<\/p>\n

#1- Aramco is expected to publish its 1H 2025 earnings <\/strong>today<\/strong>, according to the company\u2019s website<\/a>. The oil giant is forecasted to post SAR 92.8 bn in net income for the quarter, down from SAR 106.2 bn recorded in the same period last year, according to Argaam<\/a>.<\/p>\n

REFRESHER- <\/strong>The company posted a 4.6% y-o-y drop in net income to SAR 97.5 bn (USD 26 bn) in 1Q 2025<\/a>, exceeding analyst estimates by some SAR 3.4 bn amid weaker oil prices caused by global economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Aramco\u2019s earnings come as the oil major\u2019s shares are down 14% YTD, despite Western<\/strong> oil companies\u2019 stock prices rising<\/strong>, closing the premium gap that Aramco previously enjoyed over Western peers, Bloomberg<\/a> reports. \u201cNational oil companies typically trade at discounts to Western integrated oils, Aramco was the exception. The market may be resetting valuations lower to align with those of national oil company peers,\u201d Bloomberg quotes a Morningstar strategist as saying.<\/p>\n

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#2- The <\/strong>Fiba Asia Cup 2025<\/a><\/strong> is set to kick off today and run through Sunday, 17 August in <\/strong>Jeddah.<\/strong> The tournament will bring together 16 national teams from across the Asia-Oceania region to compete for the title of continental champion. The opening game<\/a> will see New Zealand compete against Iraq.<\/p>\n

WEATHER- <\/strong>Riyadh is expected to see a high of 45\u00b0C and a low of 33\u00b0C today, while windy Jeddah\u2019s mercury will go as high as 41\u00b0C and as low as 32\u00b0C. Makkah will see a 43\u00b0C high and 35\u00b0C low.<\/p>\n

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WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- <\/strong>Saudi<\/strong> Arabia could be a primary recipient of investments from a new Kuwaiti investment <\/strong>company in the works, which <\/strong>plans to deploy KWD<\/strong> 50 <\/strong>bn (SAR 610 bn)<\/strong> into major regional projects, Aleqtisadiah<\/a> quotes unnamed Kuwaiti sources as saying. The planned company would act as a sovereign investment arm, financing and operating major projects both inside and outside Kuwait, the sources are quoted as saying. <\/p>\n

The details: <\/strong>The company is expected to invest across key sectors including energy, transport, infrastructure, smart cities, and industrial development. It will operate under a special legal structure designed to give it flexibility in cross-border investments. Investments in Saudi Arabia are expected to focus on large-scale ventures in strategic zones like Neom, The Line, and the Eastern Province.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong> The legal and operational framework is being finalized and will be submitted to Kuwait\u2019s Cabinet in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER-<\/strong> The move follows previous reports that the Kuwait Investment Authority was planning to open<\/a> an office in Saudi to facilitate closer investment and trade ties.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- <\/strong>The General Authority for Co<\/strong>mpetition signed off on Al Futtaim Group\u2019s acquisition of a <\/strong>49.95% stake<\/a><\/strong> in Cenomi Retail<\/strong>, the authority said on X<\/a> yesterday. The two retail giants had inked a share purchase agreement for SAR 2.5 bn (USD 667 mn) last month<\/a>. In addition to buying the stake from the founding Alhokair family shareholders, Al-Futtaim will provide a SAR 1.3 bn loan to shore up Cenomi\u2019s finances and fund its recovery.<\/p>\n

IN CONTEXT- The acquisition is a boon for both sides: <\/strong>It\u2019s a lifeline for Cenomi, which has struggled with losses which resulted in a negative shareholder equity of SAR 991 mn in 1Q 2025, and SAR 5.43 bn in liabilities, outweighing assets of SAR 4.42 bn. It\u2019s also big for Al-Futtaim, which will break into a Saudi retail market that is still in its infancy. Cenomi Retail has leases across the Kingdom and in other markets. <\/p>\n

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#3- <\/strong>Bahrain\u2019s <\/strong>Investcorp Holdings<\/a><\/strong> is mulling selling IT provider Saudi <\/strong>NourNet<\/a><\/strong>, amid increasing investor sentiment in the Kingdom\u2019s assets, Bloomberg<\/a> reports, citing sources it said are in the know. Investcorp tapped HSBC Holdings for the potential transaction, with the sale\u2019s final decision to be made following the ongoing negotiations.<\/p>\n

About NourNet<\/strong>:<\/strong> Established in 1998, NourNet provides internet services to over 1.5k corporates across 10 industry verticals in the Kingdom, including managed services, cloud, connectivity, cyber security, and emerging technologies. It also invested in Saudi Arabia\u2019s first truly carrier neutral data center north of Riyadh with a 4.5k-sqm, tier-3 certified facility and a capacity of 450 racks.<\/p>\n

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DATA POINTS-<\/p>\n

#1- <\/strong>GCC countries saw an average inflation rate of 1.7% in 2024<\/strong>, continuing its downward trend from a 3.1% peak recorded in 2022, and bringing the inflation rate back to its 2020 level, a recent report (pdf)<\/a> by the GCC Statistical Center showed.<\/p>\n

Zooming in: <\/strong>The housing sector drove the bulk of the inflation in the region, with a 5.7% increase. Saudi Arabia recorded the highest housing inflation in the GCC at 8.8%. The UAE comes second at a rate of 3.3%, while Kuwait recorded a rate of 1.2%. Oman saw a 0.3% increase, Bahrain 0.2%, while Qatar stood out with a deflation rate of 3.3%.<\/p>\n

The other movers: <\/strong>Several other sectors also saw inflationary pressures. Inflation in the restaurants and hotels sector registered a 1.8% increase last year, and the culture and entertainment sector followed with the same rate. Education inflation came at 1.7%, food and beverages with 1.5%, and goods and services with a rate of 1.1%.<\/p>\n

Sectors that saw deflation:<\/strong> Average prices were on the decline across healthcare (-0.2%), clothing and footwear (-0.7%), communications (-1.0%), tobacco (-1.1%), furniture (-1.6%), and transportation (-2.0%).<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- <\/strong>About 9<\/strong>7.7% of the Kingdom\u2019s establishments had internet access in 2023<\/strong>, with 57.7% using the internet for social media, and 94.1% of establishments having a business email, according to a report (pdf)<\/a> from the General Authority for Statistics. The vast majority of establishments, 91.3%, used e-government services, while nearly 49.4% of establishments used cloud computing for off-the-shelf office software, with 65.6% utilizing it for financial or accounting software applications, while 38.8% used it for file storage.<\/p>\n

#3- <\/strong>Saudi Arabia\u2019s c<\/strong>ommercial real estate market maintained positive momentum in 2Q<\/strong> 2025 despite a <\/strong>slowdown in demand growth<\/strong>, according to the 2Q Global Commercial Property Monitor report (pdf)<\/a> from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Net tenant demand stood at 23%, a positive but slower rate than 2023 and early 2024 levels, Al Arabiya<\/a> reported. Meanwhile, investor interest remained strong, with a 43% net increase in investment inquiries. Net supply for property sale also grew 30%, driven by higher asset sales and proactive owner strategies.<\/p>\n

#4- <\/strong>Over 230 drilling rig<\/strong>s are operating in the Kingdom for oil and gas exploration<\/strong>, reflecting Saudi Arabia\u2019s oil and gas activity boom, Houston-based Baker Hughes said in a statement<\/a> on Saturday. This comes after the company stated in its August report that only 69 rigs were active in the country as of July, with 20 for oil \u2014 the lowest since February 2005 \u2014 and 49 for gas, according to Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Methodology:<\/strong> Baker Hughes only counts \u201cactive\u201d rigs, which are currently used in drilling and have not yet reached target depth. It clarified that its standard global rig count does not encompass all operational rigs, excluding those used for production testing, non-rotational drilling, completions or workover rigs, and rigs currently in transit to new locations.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the third issue of our Destination Sahel<\/strong> series, we\u2019re taking a look at how Sahel could become a year-round destination, the architecture underpinning new developments, and the impact of coastal cities on our shores.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our Egypt edition<\/a><\/strong> to get the scoop delivered to your inbox, Wednesday, 6 August. <\/p>\n

Missed the first two issues? Tap or click here<\/a> to read the full series. <\/p>\n

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD- <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a thoroughly mixed bag of headlines in the global business press this morning<\/strong>, with everything from the latest tariff threats from Washington against India, to Israel saying it\u2019s coming up with \u201cnext steps\u201d on Gaza. <\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s security cabinet is set to meet this week \u201cto direct the IDF\u201d on how to achieve the <\/strong>country\u2019s \u201cobjectives\u201d on Gaza<\/strong>, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday<\/a>, referring to Tel Aviv\u2019s goals to wipe out Hamas and rescue the remaining Israeli hostages. Netanyahu\u2019s remarks \u2014 which come as the death toll from Israel\u2019s attacks on Gaza surpass 60k \u2014 are reportedly being met with some disagreements within his cabinet, as some ministers and military officials see little more to be gained with continued military aggression. (Reuters<\/a> | Bloomberg<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump plans to impose \u201csubstantially\u201d higher import <\/strong>tariffs on India<\/strong> because of its continued reliance on Russian oil imports. New Delhi \u2014 which Trump accused in a post on Truth Social<\/a> of turning around and selling \u201cmuch of the oil purchased\u201d from Russia at a margin \u2014 is looking unlikely to budge on its current oil purchasing strategy despite the tariff threats. (Reuters<\/a> | CNN<\/a> | Financial Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Also worth knowing this morning:<\/strong><\/p>\n