Ghabbour Auto, an Egyptian car assembler and distributor, has posted an 89 per cent fall in profits for the first quarter and is now counting on economic recovery in Egypt to reverse the decline.
"For the company's passenger cars, we might see a pick-up in sales as you really need a car to get around in Egypt. It is not a luxury," said Hatem Alaa, an analyst at HC Securities in Cairo.
"But for commercial [vehicles], such as buses and trucks, they are likely to remain affected by a decline in tourism and weakness in the general economy."
Ghabbour posted net income of 7.7 million Egyptian pounds for the quarter, compared with 68.7m pounds in the same period last year as market sales dipped to an all-time low, missing HC's estimates by 21 per cent.
Egyptian equities were flat yesterday as investors remained on the sidelines before a nationwide demonstration expected to take place today. Protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square say they will be denouncing the violence between Muslims and Christians following violent sectarian clashes that left 12 people dead on Wednesday.
Ghabbour was unchanged at 28 pounds a share yesterday, primarily because the news of slower sales was priced into the stock. The company had previously provided guidance indicating slower sales after the revolution that ousted the president Hosni Mubarak, Mr Alaa said.
He has an underweight rating on Ghabbour with a target price of 34.40 pounds a share.
Operating profit came in at 70m pounds, down 47 per cent on the first quarter last year. Following the unrest, management maintained a tight focus on cost control without resorting to lay-offs, but instituted a recruitment freeze and reduced the marketing budget.
"Results are expectedly weak, and we believe any signs of sustainable improvement in consumer appetite, reflected in a monthly rebound in [passenger car] sales, would bode well for GB Auto," Mr Alaa said.
halsayegh@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
Company%20Profile
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Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
FIRST TEST SCORES
England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)
England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0
Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
Company%20profile
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Dunbar
Edward St Aubyn
Hogarth
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
SUCCESSION%20SEASON%204%20EPISODE%201
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Company%20Profile
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Company%20Profile
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