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Aramco’s IPO Pushed to Record $29.4 billion

A sign of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) is seen during a news conference by the state oil company at the Plaza Conference Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia November 3, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
A sign of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) is seen during a news conference by the state oil company at the Plaza Conference Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia November 3, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
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Aramco’s IPO Pushed to Record $29.4 billion

A sign of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) is seen during a news conference by the state oil company at the Plaza Conference Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia November 3, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
A sign of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) is seen during a news conference by the state oil company at the Plaza Conference Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia November 3, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco announced Sunday that its initial public offering raised a record $29.4 billion, a figure higher than previously stated after the company used a “greenshoe option” to sell more shares to meet investor demand.

The company said that the sale of an additional 450 million shares took place during the initial public offering process.

The IPO’s value raised went up from $25.6 billion to $29.4 billion.

The shares sold in the over-allotment option “had been allocated to investors during the book-building process and therefore, no additional shares are being offered into the market today,” Aramco said.

Sunday’s trading figures value Aramco at $1.85 trillion, well ahead of Apple, the second-largest company in the world after Aramco.

The oil and gas company, which is majority owned by the state, began publicly trading on the local Saudi Tadawul exchange on Dec. 11. It hit upward of $10 a share on the second day of trading. This gave Aramco a market capitalization of $2 trillion, making it comfortably the world’s most valuable company.

Aramco’s additional sales mean the company has publicly floated 1.7 percent of its shares. It’s IPO, even before the added sales, was the world’s largest ever.

More so, qualified foreign investors (QFIs) were net purchasers of SAR 999.8 million worth of stocks on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in the week ending Jan. 9, 2020 according to data issued by the Saudi bourse.

Foreign investors offloaded SAR 41.5 million worth of shares through swap agreements.

Saudi corporates were net purchasers of shares worth SAR 13.5 million. On the other hand, Institutional DPMs were net buyers of shares worth SAR 706.3 million last week.

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Revenue Growth, Improved Operational Efficiency Boost Profitability of Saudi Telecom Companies

A man monitors the movement of stocks on the Saudi Tadawul index. (AFP)
A man monitors the movement of stocks on the Saudi Tadawul index. (AFP)
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Revenue Growth, Improved Operational Efficiency Boost Profitability of Saudi Telecom Companies

A man monitors the movement of stocks on the Saudi Tadawul index. (AFP)
A man monitors the movement of stocks on the Saudi Tadawul index. (AFP)

Telecommunications companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) achieved a 12.46 percent growth in their net profits, which reached SAR 4.07 billion ($1.09 billion) during the second quarter of 2024, compared to SAR 3.62 billion ($965 million) during the same period last year.

They also recorded a 4.76 percent growth in revenues during the same quarter, after achieving sales worth more than SAR 26.18 billion ($7 billion), compared to SAR 24.99 billion ($6.66 billion) in the same quarter of 2023.

The growth in the revenues and net profitability is the result of several factors, including the increase in sales volume and revenues, especially in the business sector and fifth generation services, as well as the decrease in operating expenses and the focus on improving operational efficiency, controlling costs, and moving towards investment in infrastructure.

The sector comprises four companies, three of which conclude their fiscal year in December: Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily, and Zain Saudi Arabia. The fiscal year of Etihad Atheeb Telecommunications Company (GO) ends on March 31.

According to its financial results announced on Tadawul, Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) achieved a 33 percent growth rate of profits, bringing its profits to SAR 661 million by the end of the second quarter of 2024, compared to SAR 497 million during the same period in 2023. The company also achieved a 4.59 percent growth in revenues to reach SAR 4.47 billion, compared to SAR 4.27 billion in the same quarter of last year.

The Saudi Telecom Company achieved the highest net profits among the sector’s companies, at about SAR 3.304 billion in the second quarter of 2024, compared to SAR 3.008 billion in the same quarter of 2023. The company registered a growth of 4.52 percent in revenues.

On the other hand, the revenues of the Saudi Mobile Telecommunications Company (Zain Saudi Arabia) increased by about 6.69 percent, as it recorded SAR 2.55 billion during the second quarter of 2024, compared to SAR 2.39 billion in the same period last year.

Commenting on the quarterly results of the sector’s companies, and the varying net profits, the head of asset management at Rassanah Capital, Thamer Al-Saeed, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Saudi Telecom Company remains the sector leader in terms of customer base expansion.

He also noted the continued efforts of Mobily and Zain to offer many diverse products and other services.

Financial advisor at the Arab Trader Mohammed Al-Maymouni said the financial results of telecom sector companies have maintained a steady growth, up to 12 percent, adding that Mobily witnessed strong progress compared to the rest of the companies, despite the great competition which affected its revenues.

He added that Zain was moving at a good pace and its revenues have improved during the second quarter of 2024. However, its profits were affected by an increase in the financing cost by SAR 26.5 million riyals and a rise in interest, while net income declined significantly compared to the previous year, during which the company made exceptional returns.