EARNINGS WATCH- Ibnsina Pharma 1Q2019 profits surge 46.6% y-o-y on rapid business growth: Medical products distribution company Ibnsina Pharma reported net profits of EGP 41 mn in 1Q2019 compared to EGP 28 mn a year earlier, a 46.6% y-o-y increase, the company said in a statement (pdf). Quarterly gross revenues jumped 29.3% y-o-y to EGP 3.7 bn. Revenues were boosted by “across-the-board growth at all the company’s business segments.” The company’s hospitals segment was its fastest growing during the quarter.

The company’s board of directors agreed to pay a reduced EGP 160 mn fine imposed in a case brought by the Competition Authority pending the outcome of its appeal to the Court of Cassation, the nation’s highest appeals court.

Ibnsina looking to invest: “We continue to explore opportunities for expansion,” said co-CEO Mahmoud Abdel Gawad. “Ibnsina Pharma has more than tripled the resources invested in upgrading and expanding its distribution sites to EGP 54.1 mn in 1Q2019. What happens there determines the efficiency and timeliness with which we are able to execute our everyday operations and allows us to leverage economies of scale to provide the highest quality of service. These are the prime considerations we take into account when formulating our plans for expansion and further investment,” he said.

GB Auto net profit falls 52% in 1Q2019: GB Auto posted net profits of EGP 16 mn in 1Q2019, down 52.2% y-o-y from EGP 34 mn last year, according to a company earnings release (pdf). The losses come despite a 23.5% y-o-y rise in revenues in 1Q to EGP 5.89 bn. The bulk of the revenues came from the company’s Auto & Auto Related (A&AR) segment, which took EGP 4.95 bn over the quarter — a 23.3% rise from 1Q2018. A&AR posted a EGP 124.7 mn loss despite the strong revenue growth. “We continue to operate in a market that is experiencing the transitory effects of a changing regulatory and macroeconomic landscape,” CEO Raouf Ghabbour said, voicing his hopes for regulatory changes in the months ahead. “We have taken a proactive approach to these external shifts and continue to employ a combination of sales mix and portfolio adjustments,” he said. The company signaled it is looking for relief on the regulatory front that will allow the “booming three-wheeler space” to continue to grow and flagged up its recent launch of a mortgage finance partnership with EFG Hemes and TMG as a key development for its well-positioned non-bank financial services arm.

Amer Group flips to loss in 1Q2019: Amer Group reported net losses of EGP 4.5 mn in 1Q2019, compared to profits of EGP 18.9 mn a year earlier, the company said in a bourse filing (pdf). Revenues grew by 27.3% y-o-y to 383.6 mn.

ODE reports EGP 111.3 mn net profit in 1Q2019: Orascom Development Egypt (ODE) has reported a net profit of EGP 111.3 mnin 1Q2019, up 33.9% from EGP 83.1 mn in 1Q2018, according to the company’s earnings release (pdf). Revenues for the quarter climbed 27.9% to EGP 837.6 mn, up from EGP 654.9 in 1Q2018.

Ezz Steel reports EGP 1.6 bn in 2018 net losses: Ezz Steel has reported a consolidated net loss of EGP 1.64 bn in 2018, down from a EGP 1.58 bn loss the previous year, according to the company’s financial statement (pdf). Top line net sales came at EGP 49.2 bn for the year, up from 41.7 bn in 2017.

Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals’ net profit declined 31.8% y-o-y in 1Q2019 to EGP 193 mn compared, the company said in an EGX filing (pdf). Revenues slipped fractionally to EGP 1.23 bn from EGP 1.24 bn the previous year.