Chief Financial Officer's review

Evaluation of the fortunes and performance of the Tadawul Group to itself and the Kingdom necessarily involves looking through multiple lenses; the core of the Exchange - the market, permanence of the Exchange, IT infrastructure and capabilities, the collective knowledge and expertise of the human capital, and the contribution the Exchange provides to sustainability.

I am pleased to report to you on the financial performance of the Exchange at the end of what has been an extremely turbulent year. The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it unprecedented challenges. Yet, I can state with great satisfaction, that the Finance Team, in common with the rest of the Exchange rose to the occasion. As detailed in this section, we were able to end the year with an extremely satisfactory financial performance.

Shahrukh Qureshi

The background

The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating financial and economic impact globally, regionally, and locally. The pandemic has a three-fold impact on the Saudi Capital Market; on corporate profitability and performance, market performance and liquidity. Corporate profitability fell by 50% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2020. There were however a few sectors, such as telecommunications, food, healthcare, and retail, which were relatively unscathed. Interest rates were depressed which made stocks a more attractive investment, which was a factor in the massive increase in Tadawul's year-on-year profitability.

Soon after the pandemic broke out, we decided on an aggressive strategy of managing controllable costs and cost optimisation. At that point we could not be sure what direction the market could take. Therefore, we decided on a strategy of planning for alternative scenarios - three possible outcomes for the market were simulated and we developed contingency plans for each of them. While we curtailed certain costs, optimisation was practised to ensure certain essential procurements such as equipment necessary for distanced working was made available.

The final outcome was that the market performed extremely well. Due to interest rates, locally and globally being extremely low, the securities market became the preferred investment destination. This drove up our revenues and increased liquidity.

Performance summary - 2020

In the face of the adverse situation, Tadawul registered a commendable financial performance in many respects. Operating revenues recorded a 91% growth over 2019, driven by higher trading commissions arising from increased trading value. On the other hand, costs did not show a significant increase notwithstanding a number of new initiatives and projects, as a result of the cost control and cost optimization measures that were introduced. This enabled us to ensure the financial stability of the Company. An internal benchmarking exercise was also carried out to assess Tadawul's financial performance vis-a-vis
its peers.

Investment income however dropped by nearly 60% due to the lower interest rates prevailing in the market. The other side of the coin was that it also drove market trading. Increased foreign inflows into the market caused greater liquidity. Foreign buying amounted to SAR 115 Bn for January-September 2020. Costs were satisfactorily controlled, which together with increased revenues, resulted in higher net income.

Five year summary

Summary of income and expenditure 2016 - 2020

2020
SAR
2019
SAR
2018
SAR
2017 (Restated)
SAR
2016
SAR
Operating revenue 1,079,635,090 564,747,899 583,280,040 545,449,550 312,579,703
Operating costs (356,484,493) (326,128,116) (298,503,938) (295,466,902) (200,858,490)
Gross profit 723,150,597 238,619,783 284,776,102 249,982,648 111,721,213
General and admin expenses (180,244,860) (196,960,609) (210,520,277) (192,528,380) (180,469,349)
Operating profit 542,905,737 41,659,174 74,255,825 57,454,268 (68,748,136)
Investment income 38,797,145 94,343,939 79,211,522 87,188,113 39,012,995
Share of net loss of equity accounting investee (2,101,685) (1,610,095) (6,629,084) (2,409,809) -
Other income 4,478,947 18,900,768 1,348,402 3,070,137 437160
Non-operating income 41,174,407 111,634,612 73,930,840 87,848,441 39,450,155
Profit for the year 584,080,144 153,293,786 148,186,665 145,302,709 (29,297,981)
Zakat expense (83,561,274) - - - -
Net profit for the year 500,518,870 153,293,786 148,186,665 145,302,709 (29,297,981)

 

Statements of Financial Position 2016 - 2020

  2020
SAR
2019
SAR
2018
SAR
2017 (Restated)
SAR
2016
SAR
Non-current assets
Property and equipment 21,381,712 13,693,404 18,321,065 26,137,061 30,442,804
Intangible assets 179,552,282 176,516,175 114,622,164 81,184,289 56,569,437
Equity-accounted investee 378,895,293 40,996,978 42,607,073 49,236,157 81,846,474
Investments 101,267,886 231,554,876 306,327,691 1,113,741,772 1,446,118,292
Right-of-use assets 19,856,726 11,271,347  -  -  -
Projects under progress  -  -  -  - 29,144,844
700,953,899 474,032,780 481,877,993 1,270,299,279 1,644,121,851
Current assets
Investments 3,103,518,964 2,660,288,572 2,616,337,849 1,479,115,490 1,582,072,800
Account receivables 57,364,818 41,179,879 38,594,342 26,916,210 9,720,714
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 102,271,835 102,841,000 31,959,881 24,939,387 41,655,768
Deposits with SAMA 32,177,558  -  -  -  -
Cash and cash equivalents 96,798,376 268,487,867 363,178,918 613,057,827 109,398,138
3,392,131,551 3,072,797,318 3,050,070,990 2,144,028,914 1,742,847,420
Total assets 4,093,085,450 3,546,830,098 3,531,948,983 3,414,328,193 3,386,969,271
Equity
Share capital 1,200,000,000 1,200,000,000 1,200,000,000 1,200,000,000 1,200,000,000
Statutory reserve 376,963,633 326,911,746 311,582,367 296,763,700 283,786,867
General reserve 1,114,180,214 1,114,180,214 1,114,180,214 1,114,180,214 1,114,180,214
Unrealized gain/(loss) on available-for-sale investments - - - 9,360,408 (3,156,708)
Retained earnings 943,478,532 618,313,284 608,896,618 567,428,470 577,878,210
Total shareholder's equity 3,634,622,379 3,259,405,244 3,234,659,199 3,187,732,792 3,172,688,583
Non-current liabilities
Employees' end-of-service benefits 91,024,046 77,294,401 72,059,827 91,824,969 74,665,719
Provision for specific obligations - - 17,430,875 17,430,875 17,430,875
Lease liability 4,658,348  -  -  -  -
95,682,394 77,294,401 89,490,702 109,255,844 92,096,594

 

  2020
SAR
2019
SAR
2018
SAR
2017 (Restated)
SAR
2016
SAR
Current liabilities
Margin deposits from clearing participants 19,030,340  -  -  -  -
Members' contribution to clearing house funds 3,147,217  -  -  -  -
Lease liability 9,128,643 4,263,087  -  -  -
Account payables 95,314,671 105,383,866 87,268,042 51,116,941 60,730,640
Balance due to Capital Market Authority 32,758,785 22,330,201 56,661,001 11,881,482 16,258,958
Deferred revenue 3,223,464 3,134,967 4,733,107 5,829,797 2,649,570
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 116,616,283 75,018,332 59,136,932 48,511,337 42,544,926
Zakat payable 83,561,274 - - - -
Total current liabilities 362,780,677 210,130,453 207,799,082 117,339,557 122,184,094
Total equity and liabilities 4,093,085,450 3,546,830,098 3,531,948,983 3,414,328,193 3,386,969,271

 

Revenue and profitability

Over the period 2016-2020 operating revenue has recorded a CAGR of 36%. The corresponding figures for operating cost and gross profit have been 15% and 60% respectively. However, it is significant that the near-doubling of operating revenue has largely resulted from the 141.3% increase in trading commission from 2019 to 2020. This, coupled with a relatively small increase in operating cost over the same period, has caused the 203% increase in gross profit.

The operating revenue increased by 91.1% from 2019 to 2020, which reflects the increase in value traded of 137.21%. The increase in operating cost (from SAR 326.1 Mn to SAR 356.5 Mn) has been only 9.3%. This reflects improvements in trading efficiency. As a result, the gross profit increased by 203%.

 

 

The trading commission increased as a percentage of total operating revenue from 56.3% to 71.0%. In absolute terms it has increased by 141.3%. This also reflects the increase in both the volume and the value traded.

The general and administrative expenses remained more or less flat and have returned to its 2016 level in 2020. This, together with the trend in operating income has resulted in the operating profit increasing more than tenfold from 2019 to 2020. Income from investments has shown a decline of 58.9% in 2020 compared with the previous year. This is mostly attributable to the depressed interest rates. Non-operating income has reduced by 63.0% largely due to the decline in interest income. Profit for the year (before Zakat) has increased by 281% compared with that of 2019. The five-year trend has been one of a steady increase with a quantum leap in 2020. Effective financial year 2020, Zakat is payable in accordance with the Zakat regulation issued by GAZT based on Royal Decree 35657 issued on 29/6/1442H.

Soon after the pandemic broke out, an aggressive strategy of managing controllable costs and cost optimization was followed. Considering the prevailing uncertainty of which direction the market would take, the Exchange opted for a strategy of planning for alternative scenarios.

Year General and
admin expenses
SAR
Operating
profit
SAR
Profit
before Zakat
SAR
Zakat

SAR
Profit
after Zakat
SAR
2016 180,469,349 (68,748,136) (29,297,981) - -
2017 (192,528,380) 57,454,268 145,302,709 - -
2018 210,520,277 74,255,825 148,186,665 - -
2019 196,960,609 41,659,174 153,293,786 - -
2020 180,244,860 542,905,737 584,080,144 83,561,274 500,518,870

 

Assets

Non-current assets steadily declined over the period 2016-2019 but showed an increase of 47.8% in 2020. The increase in 2020 was mainly due to an increase in equity-accounted investee from SAR 41 Mn to SAR 378.9 Mn as a result of a conversion of an investment of the Group in the Associate in the form of Sukuk amounting to SAR 130 Mn to equity investment and making an additional investment of SAR 210 Mn in the Associate during the year under review. Other non-current investments have declined steadily from 2016 to 2020.

Investments under current assets have shown an almost continuous increase from 2016 to 2020, approximately doubling over the period. In 2020, it has increased over the previous year by 16.5% from SAR 2.66 Bn to SAR 3.10 Bn. The increase is accounted for by investments at fair value through profit and loss (FVTPL). The increase in investments is the primary cause for the increase in current assets over the past five years. The total assets increased by 15% from SAR 3.55 Bn to SAR 4.09 Bn. This increase is attributed to the increase in current asset investments being partly set off by the decrease in non-current investments.

Equity and liabilities

Total shareholder's equity which did not grow much over the period 2016-2019 grew by 11.5% from SAR 3.26 Bn to SAR 3.63 Bn from 2019 to 2020 consequent to the phenomenal growth in profit for the year, leading to retained earnings growing from SAR 618.3 Mn in 2019 to SAR 943.5 Mn in 2020.

Current liabilities have generally shown a steady growth with an increase of 72.65% in the year under review. This has mainly been the result of an increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities from SAR 75.0 Mn to SAR 116.6 Mn.

Future opportunities

New listings, which were subdued in 2020, should recover in 2021 as the economy picks up. New product lines, particularly in derivatives, should bring new revenue generating opportunities.

We can be optimistic of continued growth in the market in the years to come. This should lead to the continued development and profitability of Tadawul.