Mixed Bag of Earnings

Impatient investors succumbed to the temptation of cashing in early, but were soon swayed by the influx of mid-year results. Consequently, the market turned around mid-week, causing prices to pick up again, hauling the ASMI to a new high of 225.70.

The Arab Bank (ARBK) asserted its position once again as it climbed 3% to JD226.5 due to some institutional buying. The bank posted JD75 million in net profits for the first half of 2003, a drop of 7% from the previous year's levels. Jordan National Bank (JONB) and Jordan Investment & Finance Bank (JIFB) saw some improvement during the week, ahead of the former's annual general assembly. JONB's directors, who were quoted in the local press, were optimistic about recouping at least 60% of the funds that went missing during last year's bank fraud case. The stock, however, was unable to sustain itself falling 7% to JD1.03.

Jordanian Electric Power (JOEP) was quite active this week, despite its 1% decline to JD2.45. The utility company's profits for the first six months of 2003 are almost double those of the same period last year. Jordan Press Foundation (PRES) witnessed a similar drop as its net income remained relatively flat, increasing by JD0.4 million only.

Specialized Investment Compounds (SPIC) and Investors & Eastern Arab for Industrial & Real Estate Investments (IEAI) continued with their rally, climbing 17% and 10%, respectively. The industrial zone holding companies have been very active lately, with more than 1 million SPIC shares changing hands, while IEAI saw 0.5 million of its shares trade. Jordan Industrial Resources (JOIR) managed to grab some of the attention as the company's chairman announced that sales had increased by 500% in the first half of the year. Nevertheless, the stock could not hold its own as it retracted 3% to JD0.72.

Jordan Steel (JOST) rose 5% to JD3.00 despite posting flat semi-annual profits. JOST's net income of JD2.5 million was a pleasant surprise, nonetheless, as the company's sales fell by almost 50% vis-à-vis their June 2002 levels.