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Egypt Kuwait Holding achieves 44% year-on-year growth in normalised earnings for Q1 2025, while advancing strategic transformation and geographic expansion plans

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KUWAIT / EGYPT, May 18: Kuwait Holding Company (EKHO.CA and EKHOA.CA on the Egyptian Exchange and ‎EKHK.KW on Boursa Kuwait), one of the MENA region’s leading investment companies, reported today its ‎consolidated results for the quarter ended 31 March 2025.‎

EKH recorded revenues of USD 195million for 1Q 2025, marking a 1% y-o-yincrease and a solid 17% sequential ‎growth, driven by stronggrowth momentum across the portfolio, particularly in the fertilizer and ‎petrochemicalsectors, underpinned by operational efficiency and favourable market dynamics. The Group ‎maintained healthy profitability, with gross profit and EBITDA margins recording 39% and 38% respectively, ‎supportedby efficient cost management and sustained operational strength of core business segments. ‎Meanwhile, net profit recorded USD 39.5 million compared to USD 72.0 million in 1Q 2024, the latter of which was ‎boosted by FX gains amounting to USD 40.2 million. Excluding the impact of FX gains, net profit for the first ‎quarter of 2025grew by a normalised24% y-o-y. Net profit margin came in at 20% during 1Q 2025. Net profit ‎attributable to equity holders amounted to USD 34.1mn in 1Q25, compared to USD 62.6mn in 1Q24 which included ‎‎39.0mn in FX gains. Excluding 1Q24 FX gains, attributable net profit grew by a normalised 44% y-o-y in 1Q25.‎

Commenting on the Group’s performance and business outlook, EKH Chairman Loay Jassim Al-Kharafi:“I am ‎pleased to report that we started off 2025 with continuous momentum, delivering resilient performance amid a fluid ‎macroeconomic backdrop.‎

This quarter, we successfully advanced our transformation agenda while maintaining healthy contributions across ‎key sectors, including fertilizers, petrochemicals, and utilities. Our revenue base continues to benefit from ‎meaningful USD-linked income, providing natural resilience to currency risk. Diversifying and growing our FX ‎profile remains a core strategic priority, supported by our expanding international footprint and focus on export-‎oriented sectors.‎

Strategically, we have made notable progress. We are set to kickstart commercial operations in Saudi Arabia by ‎the end of 2Q25, this marks our first fully owned investment in the Kingdom as well as a key milestone in our ‎regional expansion plans. Our MDF project, Nilewood, is in the final commissioning phase and remains on track to ‎commence operations shortly. Meanwhile, we are nearing closure of our first investment in Northern Europe — a ‎greenfield project representing a strategic entry into a high-growth and hard currency-generating sector.‎

During the OGM in April, our shareholders approved the Board’s recommendation for the distribution of both cash ‎and stock dividends for FY24, in line with our commitment to delivering value while maintaining flexibility for ‎recycling capital.‎

As we continue to develop EKH into a more globally oriented investment platform, we remain focused on ‎disciplined execution, responsible investment, as well as sustainable growth and return generation”‎

Commenting on the Group’s 1Q2025 results, EKH CEO,Jon Rokk: “I am proud to share that EKH’s first quarter ‎results reflect disciplined execution and solid underlying growth throughout key businesses, supported by ‎operational resilience across our portfolio and continued progress on strategic priorities.‎

Revenue rose 1% y-o-y and 17% q-o-q, supported by strong operational performance. AlexFert delivered double-‎digit top-line growth across both comparable periods, driven by improved urea export pricing and a more stable ‎gas supply during the quarter. Sprea posted robust EGP-denominated revenue growth, supported by higher sales ‎volumes on the back of the company’s strategy to grow its market share. NatEnergy’s EGP-based revenue ‎recorded solid growth, driven by rising household connections and improved profitability. Kahraba, now reported ‎as a standalone business within our portfolio, continued to post strong growth in electricity distribution volumes. ‎At ONS, we witnessed a temporary reduction in output due to planned maintenance workthat was finalized in ‎February, with operations now reverting to normal run rates. ‎

The divestment of Shield Gas in the UAE marked another milestone in our portfolio optimisation strategy. ‎Meanwhile, the Delta Insurance sale process remains on track, with bidders currently in the due diligence phase.As ‎we continue to recycle capital with the aim of value creation, we remain focused on unlocking higher returns and ‎aligning our portfolio with our long-term strategic priorities.‎

Our upcoming corporate rebrand will go beyond a mere change in visual identity; rather, it will reflect our shift ‎towards a more agile, global investment company, better positioned to scale proven platforms across borders. ‎We continue to optimise our organisation to render it fit for purpose as well as invest in our people, equipping ‎them with the necessary tools and frameworks to consistently deliver exceptional results.‎

As we look ahead, we remain focused on executing with discipline, investing for growth, and accelerating our ‎transformation.”‎

Fertilizers | AlexFert‎

AlexFertbooked USD 67 million in revenues during 1Q 2025, reflecting asolid 10% y-o-y and 13% q-o-q increase. ‎Revenue growth was supported by upward trending urea export prices as well as higher total volumes brought on ‎by improved gas availability during the quarter. Both gross profit and EBITDA margins expanded by 4pp y-o-yin ‎‎1Q 2025, partially driven byfavourable FX translation effects on EGP-denominated costs.Net profit came in at ‎USD 24.6 million, translating into a 3pp y-o-y expansion in net profit margin to reach 37% in 1Q 2025. ‎

The outlook on AlexFert remains optimistic, supported by sustained recovery in urea exportprices, which ‎increased a total of 35% since 2Q 2024 to reach an average of USD410/ton in 1Q 2025.Additionally, local fertilizer ‎quotas are expected to be revised upward by the government, offering upside potential to local quota pricing.‎

Petrochemicals | Sprea Misr

Sprea Misr reported revenues of EGP2.42billion in 1Q 2025, marking robust increases of 42% y-o-y and 58% q-o-‎q, driven by higher sales volumes as a result of management’s strategy to grow market share. In USD terms, ‎revenues posted a modest 1% y-o-y growth,due to the impact of the 2024 EGP devaluation, and rose by a strong ‎‎55% q-o-q, reflecting sustained improvement in performance.Gross profit improved significantly on a sequential ‎basis, increasing by 16% q-o-q in EGP terms and 14%q-o-q in USD terms, supported by highersales volume. ‎Meanwhile, net profit totalled EGP 494 million in 1Q 2025, implying a net profit margin of20%.‎

Sprea remains on track to achieve its FY25 net profit guidance, supported by continued recovery in local pricing, ‎which is gradually adjusting in response to the EGP devaluation, rising demand for SNF driven by the resumption ‎of construction activity in Egypt, and further top-line growth from highersales of liquid glue anticipated with the ‎start of operations at Nilewood.‎

Utilities | NatEnergy

NatEnergy reported revenues of EGP 882million in 1Q 2025, marking a 40% y-o-y increase, primarily driven ‎byincreased connections to residentialcustomers. In USD terms, revenues stood at USD 17.5 million, reflecting the ‎impact of the EGP devaluation. On a sequential basis,gross profit and EBITDA margins expanded by 3pp q-o-q ‎and 2pp q-o-q, respectively, to land at 26% and 25%, respectively, reflecting improved profitability driven by a ‎more favourable revenue mix, as management continues to prioritise margin-accretive residential and ‎industrialcustomers. Net profit came in at EGP249million in 1Q 2025, compared to EGP 583million recorded in 1Q ‎‎2024, with a net profit margin of 28% for 1Q 2025. Excluding the impact of FX gains booked in 1Q 2024, earnings ‎would have grown by a normalised 18% y-o-y.‎

NatEnergy’s outlook remains promising,supported by the anticipated adjustments of natural gas connection ‎prices, which will help ease current margin pressures.Management continues to optimise revenue mix by ‎expanding its customer base in high-potential residential areas, further enhancing blended margins as well as ‎overall profitability.‎

Utilities | Kahraba

Kahraba’srevenues rose 37% y-o-y to EGP 679 million, driven by continued growth ofits electricity distribution ‎business, withdistribution volumes surging 43% y-o-y, reflecting robust performance delivered by the 10th of ‎Ramadan concession zone. In USD terms, revenuesstood at USD 13.4 million due to the impact of the EGP ‎devaluation. Net profit recorded EGP 65.2 million in EGP terms and USD 1.29 million in USD terms, reflecting the ‎impact of higher inputcosts as well as one-off gains recorded in 1Q 2024.‎

Kahraba is currentlyinvesting in a second substation within its10th of Ramadan concession area to meet rising ‎demand, as industrial activity in the zonecontinues to accelerate. Additionally, the recent government decision to ‎unify natural gas tariffs for all electricity generators will enhance the competitiveness of Kahraba’s generation ‎business.‎

Oil and gas | ONS

ONS reported revenues of USD14million in 1Q 2025, impacted by the temporary planned shutdown for pipeline ‎repairs as well as the turbine exchange that was finalised during February 2025.Net profit amounted to ‎USD6.5million in 1Q2025, translating into a net profit margin of 45%, in line with the broader trend observed ‎across gross profitability and operating margins, which was a result of the temporary pause in production due to ‎planned maintenance works. ‎

ONS is set to deliver growth in 2025, supported by key operational milestones including thecommercial production ‎at its two newly drilled wells, KSE2 and Aton-1.These developments are expected to sustain gas ouput at a steady ‎rate of 55 MMSCFD through the end of 2026, translating into higher volume sales. ONS also continues to benefit ‎from the 10-year extension to its Concession Agreement, approved by the Egyptian General Petroleum ‎Corporation(EGPC) in Q3 2024, reinforcing operational continuity and long-term growth prospects.‎

NBFS& Diversified ‎

The Diversified segment delivered strong growth in EGP terms, with revenues increasing 30% y-o-y and 46% q-o-‎q. In USD terms,revenues posted significant improvement sequentially, rising 44% q-o-q. Gross profitability ‎improved notably, with gross profit margin expanding by 4 pp y-o-yto 57%, supported by the reassessment of ‎insured asset values and premiums along withstrong portfolio returns driven by the high-interest rate environment. ‎Delta Insurance reported an attributable net profit of EGP 105 million compared to EGP 121 million in 1Q 2024. ‎Excluding the impact of EGP ‎‏19.1‏‎ million booked in FX gains in 1Q 2024, earnings would have grown by a ‎normalised c3% y-o-y.Mohandes Insurance posted a 71% y-o-y increase in attributable net profit andBedayti ‎recorded a 5% y-o-y growth in attributable net profit, reaching EGP 15.7 million. ‎

Looking ahead, management remains confident in the insurance sector’s momentum, supported by consistent ‎premium growth and ongoing increases in the valuation of insured assets. Additionally, Nilewood remains on track ‎to begin commercial operations, with the plant currently in its final commissioning phase.‎

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MEW gets CAPT approval to link external sites, NDCC

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KUWAIT CITY, July 21: The Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy has obtained approval from the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) to issue a tender for linking the external sites of the ministry with the National Data Control Center (NDCC), say sources from the ministry. Sources indicated that this tender is included in the contracts of the ministry for the current fiscal year and are scheduled to be implemented by the Planning, Training and Information Systems Sector. Sources revealed that the tender is for linking the external branches with the data center in the main ministry building and the NDCC in order to allow the exchange of information and provision of electronic services.

Sources pointed out that “subject to the approval of CAPT, the tender will be announced and a date will be set for specialized companies to submit their bids, select the winning bid and implement the project under the regulations.” Sources added the ministry intends to install five main power transformer stations for the Automobile Circuit Project — Rawda Block Three, Kabd C, cow farms, Sharq Block Four and Al- Arabi Club; in addition to supplying and extending the necessary underground cables to feed the five planned stations through two tenders: the first for the stations and the second for the cables. Sources said the two tenders aim to provide the energy needed to expand the high-voltage and ultra- high-voltage electrical networks resulting from the increased demand for electricity in the aforementioned areas, as well as to provide electricity continuously throughout the day. Moreover, the ministry also confirmed the start of electricity connection in Al-Mutlaa Residential City (N1 District – parts of Block One; in cooperation with the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW). It reiterated that it is now receiving applications to connect electricity to 251 plots

By Mohammad Ghanem
 Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff 

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DGCA of Kuwait and Japan Take Off on a New Chapter of Aviation Cooperation

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DGCA of Kuwait and Japan Take Off on a New Chapter of Aviation Cooperation

Chairman of the Kuwaiti Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Sheikh Humoud Mubarak Humoud Al-Sabah receives the Japanese Ambassador to Kuwait Kenichiro Mukai

KUWAIT CITY, July 21: Chairman of the Kuwaiti Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Sheikh Humoud Mubarak Humoud Al-Jaber Al- Sabah said Sunday that the DGCA looks forward to promoting cooperation with Japan in civil aviation. Sheikh Humoud made the remarks while welcoming Japanese Ambassador to Kuwait Kenichiro Mukai to discuss bilateral cooperation in the field of civil aviation, the DGCA said in a press release. He underlined the importance of deepening the distinguished ties between both friendly countries, praising Japan’s advanced experience in technology and aviation industry, it said. For his part, the Japanese Ambassador expressed his appreciation to the Kuwaiti official for his hospitality, saying that his country is interested in furthering cooperation with the State of Kuwait in aviation, in a way that contributes to exchanging expertise and achieving integration in the fields that concern both sides. (KUNA)

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‘Please be careful.’ There are risks and rewards as crypto heavyweights push tokenization

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NEW YORK, July 21, (AP): As cryptocurrencies become more intertwined with the traditional financial system, industry heavyweights are racing for a long-sought goal of turning real-world assets into digital tokens.

“Tokenization is going to open the door to a massive trading revolution,” said Vlad Tenev, the CEO of the trading platform Robinhood at a recent James Bond-themed tokenization launch event in the south of France.

Advocates say tokenization is the next leap forward in crypto and can help break down walls that have advantaged the wealthy and make trading cheaper, more transparent and more accessible for everyday investors.

But critics say tokenization threatens to undermine a century’s worth of securities law and investor protections that have made the U.S. financial system the envy of the world. And Robinhood’s push into tokenizing shares of private companies quickly faced pushback from one of the world’s most popular startups.

The basic idea behind tokenization: Use blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrencies to create digital tokens as stand-ins for things like bonds, real estate or even fractional ownership of a piece of art and that can be traded like crypto by virtually anyone, anywhere at any time.

The massive growth of stablecoins, which are a type of cryptocurrency typically bought and sold for $1, has helped fuel the appetite to tokenize other financial assets, crypto venture capitalist Katie Haun said on a recent podcast.

She said tokenization will upend investing in ways similar to how streamers radically changed how people watch television.

“You used to have to sit there on a Thursday night and watch Seinfeld,” Haun said. “You tune in at a specific time, you don’t get to choose your program, you couldn’t be watching a program like Squid Games from Korea. Netflix was market-expanding. In the same way, I think the tokenization of real-world assets will be market expanding.”

Robinhood began offering tokenized stock trading of major U.S. public companies for its European customers earlier this month and gave away tokens to some customers meant to represent shares in OpenAI and SpaceX, two highly valued private companies.

Several other firms are diving in. Crypto exchange Kraken also allows customers outside the U.S. to trade tokenized stocks while Coinbase has petitioned regulators to open the market to its U.S. customers. Wall Street giants BlackRock and Franklin Templeton currently offer tokenized money market funds. McKinsey projects that tokenized assets could reach $2 trillion by 2030.

The push for tokenization comes at a heady time in crypto, an industry that’s seen enormous growth from the creation and early development of bitcoin more than 15 years ago by libertarian-leaning computer enthusiasts to a growing acceptance in mainstream finance.

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency is now regularly setting all-time highs – more than $123,000 on Monday – while other forms of crypto like stablecoins are exploding in use and the Trump administration has pledged to usher in what’s been called the “golden age” for digital assets.

Lee Reiners, a lecturing fellow at Duke University, said the biggest winners in the push for tokenization could be a small handful of exchanges like Robinhood that see their trading volumes and influence spike.

“Which is kind of ironic given the origins of crypto, which was to bypass intermediaries,” Reiners said.

Interest in tokenization has also gotten a boost thanks to the election of President Donald Trump, who has made enacting more crypto-friendly regulations a top priority of his administration and signed a new law regulating stablecoins on Friday.

“Tokenization is an innovation and we at the SEC should be focused on how do we advance innovation at the marketplace,” said Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins.

Securities law can be complex and even defining what is a security can be a hotly debated question, particularly in crypto. The crypto exchange Binance pulled back offerings of tokenized securities in 2021 after German regulators raised questions about potential violations of that country’s securities law.

Under Trump, the SEC has taken a much less expansive view than the previous administration and dropped or paused litigation against crypto companies that the agency had previously accused of violating securities law.

Hilary Allen, a professor at the American University Washington College of Law, said crypto companies have been emboldened by Trump’s victory to be more aggressive in pushing what they can offer.

“The most pressing risk is (tokenization) being used as a regulatory arbitrage play as a way of getting around the rules,” she said.

However, the SEC has struck a cautionary tone when it comes to tokens. Shortly after Robinhood’s announcement, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who has been an outspoken crypto supporter, issued a statement saying companies issuing tokenized stock should consider “their disclosure obligations” under federal law.

“As powerful as blockchain technology is, it does not have magical abilities to transform the nature of the underlying asset,” Peirce said.

One of the most closely watched areas of tokenization involves private companies, which aren’t subject to strict financial reporting requirements like publicly traded ones.

Many hot startups are not going public as often as they used to and instead are increasingly relying on wealthy and institutional investors to raise large sums of money and stay private.

That’s unfair to the little guy, say advocates of tokenization.

“These are massive wealth generators for a very small group of rich, well-connected insiders who get access to these deals early,” said Robinhood executive Johann Kerbrat. “Crypto has the power to solve this inequality.”

But Robinhood’s giveaway of tokens meant to represent an investment in OpenAI immediately drew pushback from the company itself, which said it was not involved in Robinhood’s plan and did not endorse it.

“Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval-we did not approve any transfer,” OpenAI said on social media. “Please be careful.”

Public companies have strict public reporting requirements about their financial health that private companies don’t have to produce. Such reporting requirements have helped protect investors and give a legitimacy to the U.S. financial system, said Allen, who said the push for tokenized sales of shares in private companies is “eerily familiar” to how things played out before the creation of the SEC nearly a century ago.

“Where we’re headed is where we were in the 1920s,” she said. “Door-to-door salesmen offering stocks and bonds, half of it had nothing behind it, people losing their life savings betting on stuff they didn’t understand.”

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