EARNINGS WATCH- EFG Hermes is proposing an EGP 0.65 / share dividend for FY2018 pending approval of the financial service corporation’s shareholders, the company said as it announced its 2018 earnings (pdf). The group reported net profit of EGP 1 bn on revenues of EGP 4.3 bn. Notably, its non-bank financial services arm contributed more than EGP 1 bn of the firm’s total revenues. “Revenue from core operations … grew 32% Y-o-Y in FY18, buoyed by the growth in revenue reported by all lines of business on the back of the Group’s strategy of expanding its product offerings, extending its geographical presence, and serving a wider client base,” the firm said in a statement. EFG Hermes’ investment bank closed its “largest number of transactions in a single year” in 2018 with “19 equity, M&A, and debt transactions worth an aggregate USD 2.5 bn.”

Outlook: EFG Hermes’ priorities for 2019 include the continued growth of its NBFI platform, where Group CEO Karim Awad pointed specifically to its consumer finance and factoring arms, as well as a drive to “further improve our market position across the frontier emerging markets in which we currently operate.” The firm is “actively screening new growth opportunities in other high-potential markets,” he added.

Al Ezz Dekheila Steel reported net profits of EGP 647.4 mn in 2018 compared to EGP 362.4 mn a year earlier, the company said in a bourse filing. Revenues came in at EGP 41.3 bn in 2018, compared to EGP 34.4 bn in 2017.