Al Ahly Pharos

The government is working on a number of ways of facilitating customs including electronically linking data with the Egyptian Tax Authority to expedite data verifications, improving issues related to duty drawback, temporary admission, and pre-release procedures for shipments.

Adnoc Distribution plans to expand its aviation fuel services in Egypt beyond its existing presence at Cairo and Marsa Allam airports.

The Oil Ministry signed an MoU with Greece’s Environment and Energy Ministry to collaborate on carbon capture, storage, and utilization. 

Egypt will ink an agreement to rent a floating regasification unit from Cyprus next month.

Twenty German companies are planning to invest in Egypt’s manufacturing sector.

Saudi energy company ACWA Power has secured a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the state-run Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) for a major wind energy project in Egypt's south Hurghada.

Minister of Labor revealed that the government aims to reduce the unemployment rate to 5.7% in 2025, compared to the previous rate of 6.4%.

The FRA revised regulations related to SPACs, allowing them to merge, swap shares, or acquire credit balances of their target company. 

COMI (FV: EGP135.00, OW) 4Q24 net profit post-minority interest recorded EGP12,848 million (-13% q/q, +78% y/y), bringing FY24 bottom line to a strong EGP55,196 million (+86% y/y). The stock is currently trading at P/E25 of 4.1x and P/B25 of 1.3x.

BTFH has completed the acquisition of SODIC Securitization Company for EGP8.6 million.

EGAL reported steady KPIs for 2Q24/25. Net profit after tax came in at EGP3.1 billion in 2Q24/25 (+73% YoY, -26% QoQ). 1H24/25 net profit after tax surged 114% YoY to EGP7.4 billion. EGAL is currently trading at FY24/25e P/E of 5.5x and EV/EBITDA of 3.1x.

EGX is considering adopting a real-time settlement mechanism for the voluntary delisting of ESRS shares where transaction settlement and fund disbursement take place immediately upon execution with the opening of the OPR.

FWRY, Banque Misr, and EBC launched a new cash in and out service for e-wallets.

ETEL and Orange Egypt signed transmission and infrastructure services. 

- Market Overview 

- CCAP

- BTFH

- ETEL

- AMOC

- EKHOA

- prepared by: Mayada Amin-CETA, CFTe

The Oil Ministry yesterday inked two agreements with Cyprus to liquify and re-export Cypriot natural gas.

Saudi renewables giant Acwa Power is setting up a 2 GW wind farm in South Hurghada with investments of SAR8.6 bn (c. USD2.3 bn).

Italian leading hospital group San Donato Group wants to set up a USD100 mn hospital and an international medicine-focused university.

Chinese electronics and household appliance manufacturer Hisense and UAE’s FBB Tech began construction of their USD38 mn new electronic devices manufacturing facility in the China-Egypt Teda trade zone in Ain Sokhna.

Italian energy player Eni plans to begin producing 100 mn cubic feet per day (cf/d) of gas from its Noor field off Egypt’s northern coast by mid-2026.

The EGX and the Madbouly government are in talks over listing all of the companies earmarked for privatization on the EGX in the lead up to selling them off to strategic investors.

Egypt is looking to up its imports of Israeli gas by 58% by the middle of 2025.

Egypt’s grain imports, including wheat, corn and soybeans, reached USD8.56 billion in 2024, compared to USD7.99 billion in 2023, a growth of 7.1%.

Jihad Azour, the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, stated that the fourth tranche of the Fund’s loan to Egypt includes a new program related to the environment, and in light of that, the fourth review and a new program will be approved.

SAUD 4Q24 standalone bottom line recorded EGP787 million (-11% q/q, +28% y/y). Bringing FY24 bottom line to EGP3,012 million (+35% y/y, and 8% higher than Al Ahly Pharos Estimates of EGP2,798 million).  BoD proposed to distribute cash dividends of EGP0.85/share, which implies a pay-out ratio of 24%, perfectly in line with Al Ahly Pharos estimates, subject to the CBE's approval. SAUD is currently trading at P/E25 of 2.9x and P/B25 of 0.6x.

- Market Overview 

- COMI

- ADIB

- BTFH

- OIH

- GBCO

- prepared by: Mayada Amin- CETA, CFTe

IMF boss confirmed that the Fund will continue to support the Egyptian economy as it carries out reforms. 

The government will pay out USD1 billion of arrears owed to foreign energy companies early next month.

The Emirati company Dana Gas will resume its drilling activities in Egypt starting next March, after receiving part of its overdue dues from the Egyptian Petroleum Authority.

BP kicked off production from the second development phase of its Raven natural gas field in its North Alexandria offshore concession. 

The Arab Organization for Industrialization is in talks with Emirati investors to set up three new factories in Egypt. The planned facilities will specialize in car tires, MDF wood from palm tree fronds, and advanced defense manufacturing.

A number of tax facilities regarding SMEs, simplifying tax procedures, and settling disputes will take effect in March.

EAST released outstanding 1H24/25 financial results. 1H24/25 net profit recorded EGP5,382 million (+85.8% YoY). EAST is currently trading at FY24/25f P/E of 6.8x and EV/EBITDA of 6.1x.

AMOC released 2Q24/25 full financial results. Net profit dropped 35% YoY (-68% QoQ) to EGP148 million. Net profit declined 5% YoY to EGP610 million in 1H24/25. AMOC is currently trading at a FY24/25e PE of 4.3x and EV/EBITDA of 2.1x.

MASR achieved strong FY24 sales of EGP46.1 billion, up 54.2% y/y, implying 4Q24 sales of EGP13.4 billion, down 10.8% y/y and up 13.7% q/q.

EGAL is studying establishing a new 600k ton aluminum plant with no further details announced. 

SWDY's Chairman expects the company to start supplying building materials to Ras Al Hekma project in North Coast in two months. SWDY is also eyeing an entrance into Brazil and India as part of its expansion plan.

CLHO announced the execution of an agreement to extend Cleopatra October (Haven) Hospital through a Build-to-Suit lease to add approximately 200 beds to the existing hospital. The expansion is expected to increase the hospital’s total capacity to up to 300 beds by 2026. 

CIRA Education will submit a mandatory tender offer (MTO) to up its stake in Cairo for Educational services (CAED) to up to 90% from the current 69.4%. CIRA is looking to acquirean additional 20.6% of its subsidiary at an initial share price of EGP30.

Weekly Commodities Update 

- Market Overview 

- ABUK

- ORHD

- ETEL

- ADIB

- ORAS

- Prepared by: Mayada Amin- CETA, CFTe

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides reconfirmed that he will sign “the first agreements for the commercialization of natural gas from deposits in the Republic of Cyprus” tomorrow. 

Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 6.4% in 4Q 2024, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter, according to data from state statistics agency Capmas.

Efforts to speed up customs clearance got the cabinet thumbs up, with a plan from the finance and investment ministries to improve the process of exporting and importing goods being passed in its bid to cut customs clearance times down from eight days to just two.

A power purchase agreement between Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company was approved to allow energy supplies from wind energy projects totaling 2 GW to be fed into the national grid.

A plan to simplify private healthcare regulation detailed in a draft law was passed, which is designed to make it easier to license new private healthcare facilities, disentangle administration from ownership, and greenlight foreign players wanting to open up shop in the country.

Stamp tax amendments set to replace the planned capital gains tax will be issued within days, Deputy Finance Minister for Tax Policies Sherif El Kilani said. 

The government intends to reformulate the criteria for granting the golden license, in addition to discussing the determinants and controls for establishing public free zones, in order to govern the procedures related to all industrial activities and projects, Minister Kamel EL-wazir said.

ABUK released 2Q24/25 full financial statements with net profit surging to EGP3.2 billion in 2Q24/25 (+59% YoY, +146% QoQ), with a NPM of 47.7% in 2Q24/25 (+1pps YoY, +12pps QoQ), further supported by revenue growth as well as EGP897.4 million of forex gains recorded in the quarter. This brings 1H24/25 bottom line to EGP4.4 billion (+12% YoY) with a NPM of 43.4% (-3pps YoY). ABUK is currently trading at FY24/25f PE of 4.8x.

CANA 4Q24 bottom line recorded a strong EGP2,559 million (+95% q/q, +173% y/y), bringing FY24 net profit to EGP5,681 million (+148% y/y, 49% higher than Al Ahly Pharos Estimates). We reiterate our Overweight recommendation of CANA on an updated FV of EGP35.00/share up from EGP 23.08/share. CANA is currently trading at 2.1x P/E 2025 and 0.4x P/B 2025. BoD proposed distribution of 0.54 bonus share for every outstanding share.

 BTFH aims to launch an app specializing in data analytics in 2025.

EMFD inked a strategic partnership agreement with Midar Investment to set up the EGP100 bn New Mivida residential project in New Cairo. 

- Market Overview 

- COMI

- HRHO

- CIEB

- ETEL

- EMFD

- PHAR

prepared by: Mayada Amin- CETA, CFTe

The government is currently working on preparing the budget for FY 2025-26, all while preparing a comprehensive three-year budget with a financial ceiling that can only be exceeded in exceptional cases, one of the sources said. Government entities will also submit another budget covering FY 2026-27 to FY 2029-30. Ministries will be given cabinet-approved financial ceilings that can’t be exceeded.

The Public Government Budget is set to rise to somewhere in the vicinity of EGP8 tn in the fiscal year 2025-2026, up from EGP6.6 tn in the current fiscal year, as the government looks to incorporate additional state economic bodies’ budgets into the budget, a government source told local press.

The budget pencils in growth of around 5-5.5%, reduced public debt, and a primary surplus amounting to approximately 4% of GDP.

The government is also working on reducing the amount of funds allocated for fuel subsidies from the current fiscal year’s EGP150 bn.

The government is planning to further cut down public investments and is set to, instead, rely on self-financing through various entities and limit spending to highly urgent projects or those already nearing completion, the sources said.

The Finance Ministry is looking to launch a new public debt policy document by the end of March.

Phase two of the new capital’s development will be offered to a French investment consortium in March.

The Minister of Finance revealed the features of the proposed package of reforms of the customs system through 19 proceduresز

CIEB released 4Q24 consolidated bottom line of EGP1,944 million (+4% q/q, +44% y/y ), bringing FY24 bottom line to EGP8,030 million (+55% y/y and perfectly in line with Al Ahly Pharos estimate of EGP8,039 million). CIEB is currently trading at P/E25 of 3.1x (based on bottom line post minority and appropriations) and P/B25 of 0.9x. CIEB's BoD proposed cash dividend distribution of EGP3.82/share, implying a payout ratio of 60% and DY of 20%, pending the CBE and AGM approvals.

CCAP reported a consolidated net profit after minority interest of EGP114.5 million in 3Q24 (-94% YoY, -108% QoQ). The company is currently trading at FY25e P/E of 1.4x and EV/EBITDA of 4.8x.

Minister of Petroleum appointed Maged Mostafa El Kordy as acting chairman and managing director for AMOC. 

State-owned El Nasr for Fertilizers & Chemical Industries (Semadco) is gearing up to set up a wind farm and solar power stations with a combined capacity of 500 MW to power its new green ammonia factory in Suez, according to local media.

FWRY has acquired a majority stake in Code Zone, a manager of local hospitals and medical institutions, as part of its strategy to invest in complementary startups. The company is also in negotiations with Gulf firms to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In the first quarter, Fawry plans to launch new investment services focused on the stock market and gold, including various investment funds. Additionally, the company is considering applying for a digital bank license and has introduced Fawry Business, a platform designed to assist local companies with digital transformation, offering payment management, e-receipts, SME loans, and salary management solutions.

EFIH and its sister company eHealth will work together to link the Universal Health Insurance System with social protection systems under an MoU they inked with the Social Solidarity Ministry and the Universal Health Insurance Authority (UHIA).

ARCC signed a EUR25 million loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to fund energy efficiency upgrades and expand alternative fuel use. 

- Market Overview 

- ETEL

- CIEB

- ISPH

- RMDA

- HRHO

- prepared by: Mayada Amin- CETA, CFT