Banking, realty, energy sectors drive Qatari-listed companies' earnings in Q1
Doha, Qatar: The total earnings for Qatari-listed companies witnessed a marginal gain of 0.9% during the first quarter (Q1) of this year to reach $3.62bn as compared to $3.59bn in Q1-2024.
The surge in earnings was primarily driven by earnings growth in the Banking, Real Estate and Energy sectors.
Qatar's banking sector reported a profit growth of 1.1% in Q1-2025 that reached $2.09bn accounting for 57.7% of the overall exchange profits during the quarter, according to Kamco Invest GCC Corporate Earnings report.
QNB's net profit reached $1.2bn in Q1-2025, up 2.9% compared to $1.1bn in Q1-2024, driven by higher operating income which increased 5.3% to reach $3bn.
The bank reported a 6% increase in customer deposits while loans and advances increased by 9% to reach $260.1bn. Meanwhile, QIB's net profit surged 3.2% in Q1-2025 to reach $270.2m versus $261.9m in Q1-2024. The bank reported higher net interest income and non-interest income and a marginal decline in quarterly impairments during Q1-2025.
The net profits for Qatar International Islamic Bank increased by 6.4% to $97.7m Q1-2025 from $91.9m in Q1-2024 mainly led by an increase in net interest income that more than offset a decline in non-interest income. A fall in impairments during Q1-2025 also supported bottom-line growth during Q1-2025.
In the Telecom sector, Ooredoo reported net profits of $263.3m in Q1-2025 as compared to $250.3m in Q1-2024, up by 5.2% mainly led by lower forex impact during the quarter as well as a fall in interest expense. Meanwhile Vodafone Qatar reported a net profit of $44.5m for Q1-2025, representing an increase of 8.2% y-o-y compared to $41.2m in Q1-2024.
The total revenue increased by 6.1% y-o-y to reach $234.8m due to sustained growth across all core business segments, including mobility, fixed broadband services, managed services, Internet of Things (IoT), handsets and others. Service revenue grew by 2.5% to $198m.
EBITDA increased by 6.1% to reach $98.3m impacted by the higher service revenue. EBITDA margin remained stable at 41.9%.
The net profits for the Energy sector improved by 7.5% y-o-y to reach $242.9m supported by profits reported by Gulf International Services Co. and Qatar Gas Transport Co. (Nakilat).
Net profits for Gulf International Services Co. increased by 37.8% to reach $60.9m in Q1-2025 versus $44.2m for Q1-2024 driven by the strong results from the aviation, drilling, and insurance segments.
The drilling segment recorded stronger performance driven by increased rig move activity during the current quarter in addition to higher rig utilization.
The aviation segment benefited from higher contributions from the MRO segment, supported by additional third-party engine overhaul works.
Meanwhile, revenue growth in the insurance segment was attributed to the higher earned portion of policies issued during the quarter.
Qatar Gas Transport Co. posted a net profit increase of 3.2% to reach $118.8m in Q1-2025 versus $115.1m in Q1-2024 mainly led by the increase in revenue due to strong demand from wholly owned vessels, partially offset by lower contributions from LNG and LPG joint ventures.
This was achieved despite lower income due to capital allocation towards the newbuild program. The company's LPG joint venture outperformed during the quarter mainly due to improved charter rates, cost efficiencies and increased operating days due to two vessels drydocking in Q1-2024.
The aggregate net profits reported companies listed on GCC exchanges increased by 2.0% y-o-y during Q1-2025 to reach $58.6 Bn as compared to $57.4 bn in Q1-2024.
The marginal improvement in profitability was mainly led by a y-o-y increase in profits for Banks, Telecom and Real Estate sectors that more than offset a decline in profits for the Energy, Materials and F&B sectors.
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