🔔 Good morning, and welcome to Telda Lens — your daily pulse on Egypt’s markets.
Today: Qalaa and its EGX-listed subsidiaries Taqa Arabia and Ascom have reported their 2Q earnings, and on the macro front: Egypt’s non-oil private sector contracted slightly in January
Market overview
EGX Pulse
🔔 EGX30 ended +2.88% by market close at 48,978 points, the EGX70 rose 1.96% to 12,710 points, and the EGX100 rose 2.06% to reach 17,561 points
💸 The number of transactions reached 168,921 spread across 1,916,564,657 stocks leading to a turnover of EGP 9.6 billion.
🏷️ Internationalinvestors were the only net sellers.
📈Top gainers across the broader market Egypt for Poultry (+19.88%), Fawry (+8.0%), Lecico Egypt (+7.95%)
📉 Top losers: Delta For Printing & Packaging (-5.71%), Concrete Fashion Group (-4.17%), Rubex International for Plastic and Acrylic Manufacturing (-3.57%.)
⬆️ Top gainers for EGX30 included Fawry (+8.0%), Raya Holding (+7.0%), and Telecom Egypt (+6.2%).
⬇️ Top losers included: Orascom Investment Holding (-0.8%) and Heliopolis Housing (-0.6%).
Other Important Stats:
🧈 24K Gold reached EGP 7,741 per gram, up 4.69% day-on-day and up 15.16% month-on-month.
💲 The USD reached EGP 46.96 at the National Bank of Egypt.
Corporate corner
Qalaa posts EGP 1.2 bn net loss in Q2; EGX-listed subsidiaries TAQA and ASCM see improvements
Qalaa Holdings (CCAP) reported a consolidated net loss after minority interest of EGP 1.2 billion for 2Q 2025, compared with a net loss of EGP 1.4 billion in 2Q 2024, driven by a pre-planned 32-day production shutdown at the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) and a decline in global refining margins, alongside interest accruals related to settlement agreements.
Revenues:
Consolidated revenue came in at EGP 25.1 billion in 2Q 2025, down 34% from EGP 38.2 billion in 2Q 2024. Revenue excluding ERC rose 48% year-on-year to EGP 5.1 billion, reflecting solid top-line growth across all other subsidiaries.
Subsidiary highlights:
ERC: Reported USD-denominated revenue equivalent to EGP 20.0 billion in 2Q 2025 (down 42% YoY) and a net loss of EGP 3.8 billion, compared with a net profit of EGP 558 million in 2Q 2024, largely as a result of the maintenance shutdown and lower refining margins.
Taqa Arabia (TAQA on the EGX): Reported net profit of EGP 213.9 million, a twofold increase year-on-year, fueled by strong bottom-line growth across all subsidiaries except TAQA Power.
Asec Company for Mining “Ascom” (ASCM on the EGX): Reported a net loss of EGP 55.7 million in 2Q 2025, an improvement compared with a net loss of EGP 73.0 million in 2Q 2024, following net income expansion at ACCM, though declining margins at GlassRock weighed on results.
ASEC Holding: Reported a net profit of EGP 284.4 million, compared with a loss of EGP 135.6 million in 2Q 2024, supported by a strong recovery at Al-Takamol Cement.
Dina Farms Holding: Recorded a net profit of EGP 77.8 million, a 30% drop year-on-year, reflecting an increase in depreciation and deferred tax liabilities.
Going forward:
Qalaa reiterated its focus on growth through incremental investments and debt reduction. ERC made aggregate debt repayments of USD 574.4 million in 2025, reducing its senior debt principal to just USD 63 million, which is scheduled to be repaid in March 2026. The company also intends to initiate five IPOs over the coming two years to unlock shareholder value, starting with National River Port Management Company in mid-2026.
Egypt in Focus
Egypt’s private sector starts 2026 in contraction as demand pressures offset improved output
Egypt’s non-oil private sector saw a marginal deterioration in business conditions in January, with the S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dipping to 49.8 from 50.2 in December. The latest reading ended a two-month period of expansion as new orders eased, although the sector continued to see a sustained increase in output levels. While manufacturing and services saw activity growth, the overall momentum was pulled down by the first drop in new work since October.
What this means:
The PMI is a key gauge of economic momentum in the non-oil private sector. Readings above 50 indicate month-on-month expansion, while levels below that threshold signal contraction. After two months of fractional growth, the January reading of 49.8 indicates that the recovery has stalled slightly. However, S&P Global economists noted that the current level remains historically consistent with strong non-oil GDP growth, suggesting the dip may be a temporary cooling rather than a sharp downturn.
Output rises as hiring sharply weakens:
In a positive sign, output levels increased for the third consecutive month, marking the longest period of continuous growth in activity since late 2020. However, this did not translate into job creation; instead, employment levels fell at the sharpest rate since October 2023. Firms reported that the reduction in staffing was a response to rising spare capacity and a concerted effort to clear backlogs of work, which fell at the quickest pace in nearly three years.
Selling prices drop for the first time in years:
A major highlight of the January report was the first reduction in selling prices since July 2020. Companies were able to lower their charges to customers because input cost inflation slowed to a ten-month low. While some firms noted higher costs for raw materials and wages, the overall cooling of price pressures allowed for more competitive pricing strategies.
Outlook:
Business confidence regarding the next 12 months remained positive, supported by the ongoing growth in production and the stabilization of costs. However, the outlook is tempered by the slight decline in new orders. According to S&P Global’s David Owen, while the headline index dipped below 50, the sustained growth in output and the first fall in selling prices in over five years provide some fundamental strengths for the Egyptian economy at the start of 2026.
That’s it for today.
Stay curious, stay invested — we’ll see you tomorrow.
Your daily market lens, signing off.
