Tamweel profit plunge a surprise

Investors sold shares of Tamweel yesterday after the Islamic mortgage company reported a steep decline in third-quarter profit.

Tamweel dropped 5.1 per cent to close at Dh1.30.

On Monday, Tamweel reported a 46.5 per cent drop in quarterly profit to Dh8.4 million, down from Dh15.7m last year.

The result surprised analysts, who on average had forecast that the Sharia-compliant lender would post a profit of Dh22 million.

"Tamweel has risen for three weeks on investor bets, but the results showed the company is struggling with higher funding costs, interest deposits from previous period," said Nabil Farhat, a partner at Al Fajer Securities in Abu Dhabi.

"The market is absorbing the results," he added.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 0.1 per cent 1,650.26 points, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index fell 0.2 per cent to 2,653.45 points.

In Doha, Qatar's biggest property developer, Barwa Real Estate, reported profits down 12 per cent in the first nine months of the year. Barwa fell 1.9 per cent to close at 28.35 rials yesterday.

Net profit for the period ended September 30 reached 779.1m rials, down from 833.3m rials in the year earlier, according to a statement published on the bourse website.

Barwa was the most active stock, with 371,060 shares, traded in Qatar.

Qatar's QE Index fell 0.3 per cent to 8,511.97 points.

Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's measure added 0.4 per cent to 5,744.54 points.

Bahrain's index added 0.2 per cent to 1,062.46 points. Oman's MSM 30 Index added 0.2 per cent to 1,062.46 points.

The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index fell 0.1 per cent to 6,729.48.

halsayegh@thenational.ae