Kuwait – Mubasher: The financial results of Kuwaiti Exchange-listed companies continued to signal some softness, though performance did appear to surprise on the upside, National of Kuwait (NBK) reported.

Equities have also been supported by a generally improved sentiment brought about by the sale of Americana to a UAE investor, the report noted   

Earnings of 166 listed firms decreased 6% year-on-year to KWD 1.1 billion in the first nine months of 2016.

Profit growth also went down 4.2% year-on-year, even after making an adjustment for a large one-time gain recorded in 1Q15 by one of the banks, NBK said.

Losses hiked 59% to KWD 82 million, year-on-year, while the number of loss-making companies was stable at 40.

"The large decline in oil prices since the middle of 2014 has clearly hurt the performance of corporates as the operating environment proved more challenging," according to NBK.

Total revenues of 130 listed companies levelled down 2.7%, year-on-year for the first nine months of 2016, which is the second consecutive year of declines in total revenues, the bank reported.

NBK expected the business activity to be on track to recover, as non-oil growth is expected to pick up slightly in 2017 driven by investments.

Non-bank financial services accounted for 69% decline of the sector earnings, which was attributed to the poor performance of GCC equities earlier in 2016 which weighed on the portfolios of investment companies. Fourteen of the sector's companies suffered KWD 53 million losses.

Real estate companies' profits retreated 28% year-on-year, as around 60% of reporting companies saw profits down, which coincided with a sharp decrease in activity in the real estate market and a notable price correction. The value of sales was down 27% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2016.