By: Eman Ghaly

Mubasher: The earnings statements of 18 companies listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) posted a 1.4% year-on-year profit rise during the third quarter of 2018, recording QAR 6.34 billion ($1.76 billion), from QAR 6.25 billion ($1.73 billion), according to a recent survey conducted by Muabsher.

The eighteen firms included six banks, three in each the financials and the industrial sectors, as well as two in the consumer goods and services sector, and one company in each the insurance, real estate, transportation, and telecommunication sectors.

Quarterly Profits

The banking sector reported the highest profits, with QAR 5.67 billion, representing 89.5% of the surveyed companies’ total earnings, followed by the industrial and real estate sectors, with QAR 433.64 million and QAR 124.25 million, respectively.

On the other hand, the insurance sector recorded the lowest profits during the three-month period ended September, with QAR 16.36 million, while the losses of the financial services sector hiked 103.4%.

The heavyweight Qatar National Bank (QNB) generated the biggest profits, with QAR 3.72 billion, while National Leasing Holding (Alijarah) recorded the lowest profit with QAR 380,000.

Nine-month profit

The survey also revealed that the companies’ total profits rose 3.8% to QAR 18.82 billion during the first nine months of 2018, versus QAR 18.13 billion in the year-ago period.

The banks had the biggest share in total profits, with 87.5% or QAR 16.74 billion, followed by the industrial sector, with 8.24%, equaling QAR 1.55 billion.

The insurance sector had the lowest share of profits, with only QAR 57.48 million, while the financial services’ losses increased 212.3% to QAR 12.1 million during the nine-month period ended September.

Translated by: Mohammad Shokhba