[2008-02-15]  Air Arabia earnings lift UAE stock markets
UAE shares advanced after Air Arabia's earnings boosted investor confidence and as declines this month made shares more attractive.

Air Arabia, the only publicly traded airlines in the Gulf, climbed after it said profit surged almost fourfold.

Tamweel gained the most in almost two weeks as it won approval to provide mortgages in Egypt. Sharjah Cement and Industrial Development rose after announcing dividend plans.

"Strong earnings are reinforcing investor confidence in corporate growth in the region,'' said Amr Abol-Enein, head of Middle East and North Africa (Mena) equity research at ING Groep, in a phone interview from Dubai yesterday.

Opportunistic buying

"It's also opportunistic buying as valuations became more attractive after the recent drop.''


The Dubai Financial Market General Index added 1.5 per cent to 5,735.64, gaining for a third day. The measure has dropped 8.8 per cent since reaching this year's high on January 15. The Abu Dhabi Securities Market Index increased 0.8 per cent to 4,773.72.

Air Arabia climbed 1.5 per cent to Dh2.07, advancing for a fourth day. The low-cost airline said full-year net income surged to Dh376 million ($102 million) as it added planes and routes to win more passengers in the second-biggest Arab economy.

Members of Dubai's index trade at an average of 16 times estimated earnings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Tamweel climbed 2.5 per cent to Dh6.57, its biggest gain since February 3. The UAE's largest home-finance provider by market value received approval from the Egyptian Mortgage Finance Authority to open a home financing unit in the North African state.

Sharjah Cement surged 9.8 per cent to Dh6.26, its biggest one-day jump since November 2005.

The UAE company proposed paying a cash dividend for 2007 of 50 fils per share. It also plans to distribute seven bonus shares for every 100 held.

In other Gulf markets, Qatar's Doha Securities Market Index increased one per cent. The Kuwait Stock Exchange Index added less than 0.1 per cent, while Oman's Muscat Securities Market 30 Index lost less than 0.1 per cent.




Source: © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2007.