EARNINGS WATCH- Plenty of our friends in corporate Egypt have reported results in the past 24 hours:

Edita Food Industries reported a 50.8% y-o-y jump in its bottom line for 1Q2018 to EGP 60.9 mn, up from EGP 40.4 mn in the comparable quarter last year. Net profit climbed on the back of higher revenues, which rose by 37.9% y-o-y to EGP 886.1 mn. “The first quarter of 2018 has yielded solid results for Edita with strong volume recovery and volume-driven growth serving as evidence that difficult times are now behind us,” Chairman and CEO Hani Berzi said. “We’re seeing demand rising and consumers increasingly adapting to our new price points, especially at the croissant segment which posted the strongest growth in volumes and was the largest contributor to revenue growth during the period.” The company will continue to emphasize volume recovery in the months ahead, paying special attention to export markets. “I remain confident in our ability to continue satisfying consumer demand and in parallel creating value for our shareholders,” Berzi said. “We are also excited to be venturing further beyond our borders and look forward to increased contributions from export markets as a pillar of our long-term growth strategy.” Tap or click here to view the company’s full earnings release (pdf).

Egypt Kuwait Holding (EKH) saw bottom-line growth for 1Q2018 gain a solid 16% y-o-y to USD 32.6 mn, the company reported (pdf). EKH saw record growth in revenues for the quarter, rising 11% y-o-y to USD 118.8 mn. Revenue growth was driven by improved on-the-ground performance and strong operational results. “Our exceptional performance during the quarter was partly driven by the commencement of operations at ONS, a development that positions us today as the sole, fully-integrated energy company in Egypt,” Chairman Moataz Al Alfi said. A play on subsidy reforms and Egypt as a regional energy hub: “At a time when Egypt is carving its space as a regional natural gas hub with increased liberalization and subsidy reform, EKH stands to benefit through its upstream gas production, its midstream gas distribution, and its downstream gas-fired electricity generation and gas-fed industrials such as fertilizers and petrochemicals,” Al Alfi added.

Qalaa Holdings reports FY2017 results: Qalaa Holdings reported a net loss of EGP 4.71 bn in FY2017, “driven primarily by EGP 4.26 bn in impairments booked during the year, which management expects to be the final round of significant impairments, as well as by EGP 434.1 mn in losses from discontinued operations.” The company’s revenues rose 22% y-o-y to EGP 9.28 bn “on the back of strong growth from its energy subsidiaries TAQA Arabia and Tawazon, as well as ASCOM, its operational platform in the mining sector,” according to the company’s earnings release (pdf). “Qalaa’s full-year results reflect the ongoing transformation across our portfolio companies, with several platforms gearing-up for a new growth phase,” said Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal. “Energy, mining, cement, and transportation plays continued to capitalize on the prevailing economic trends and turn new market dynamics into growth opportunities and into avenues to create shareholder value.” Looking ahead: With operations at the Egyptian Refining Company set to start in 2019, Qalaa is confident that “2017 was an inflection point for Qalaa and that 2018 and beyond will witness further improvement in our financial results leading to a positive bottom-line in 2019,” Co-Founder and Managing Director Hisham El-Khazindar said.

Cleopatra Hospitals Group’s consolidated net profit after tax rose 97% y-o-y to EGP 57.2 mn in 1Q2018, up from EGP 29.1 mn, the company said in its earnings release (pdf). Revenues came in 32% higher y-o-y at EGP 347.2 mn. Cleopatra Hospital was the largest contributor to group revenues for the quarter at 45% of the total. “Our strong results in the first quarter of the year reflect the merits of our strategic initiatives and the success of our integration drive that is increasingly delivering value at our top-line and simultaneously allowing us to maximize efficiency and extract cost-savings while staying true to our commitment to patient safety and service quality,” Group CEO Ahmed Ezzeldin said. The group will continue infrastructure upgrades and press ahead with its CAPEX program over the coming period, which will see “complete renovations” in several of the group’s facilities.

Palm Hills Development (PHD) reported a 5.3% y-o-y increase in 1Q2018 net profit after tax to EGP 224.2 mn, up from EGP 212.3 mn in the same period last year, according to an EGX filing (pdf). Revenues came in at EGP 1.47 bn for the first three months, down from EGP 1.59 bn last year.

Orascom Development Egypt (ODE) reported a net profit after tax of EGP 83 mn in 1Q2018, up from EGP 75.9 mn during the same period last year, according to an EGX filing. Revenues also rose to EGP 654.9 mn, compared to EGP 493.8 mn last year.

The National Bank of Kuwait Egypt reported 1Q2018 net profits of EGP 496.9 mn, up from EGP 329.5 mn in the same period last year, according to an EGX filing (pdf).