Today: Eastern Company posts strong earnings growth while Arab Dairy faces a sharp reversal into losses + B Investments moves to acquire a stake in Brown Nose Coffee and the government prepares to list five more state firms.

🔔 EGX30 ended +0.7% by market close at 46,399 points, the EGX70 rose 0.4% to 12,753 points, and the EGX100 increased 0.2% to reach 17,724 points.

💸 The number of transactions reached 140,764 spread across 2,465,851,040 stocks leading to a turnover of EGP 6.582 billion.

🏷️ International investors were the only net buyers.

📈 Top gainers for the market as a whole included October Pharma (+20.0%), Saudi Egyptian Investment & Finance (+10.6%), and Cairo Pharmaceuticals (+9.2%).

📉 Top losers for the market included Housing & Development Bank (-5.2%), Gmc Group For Industrial Commercial & Financial Investments (-4.3%), and Egyptian Arabian “Themar” Comp. For Securities & Bonds Brok. (-3.3%).

⬆️ Top gainers for EGX30 included Qalaa Holdings (+3.4%), Orascom Construction (+2.5%), and Orascom Investment Holding (+2.2%).

⬇️ Top losers included Abu Qir Fertilizers (-2.1%), TMG Holding (-2.0%), and Raya Holding (-1.9%).

Other Important Stats: 

🧈 24K Gold reached EGP 8,262 per gram, down 0.1% day-on-day and down 1.6% month-on-month.

💲 The USD reached EGP 54.3 at the National Bank of Egypt.

⬆️ Cigarette maker Eastern Company (EAST) posted a solid second half, with profits rising 12% year-on-year to hit EGP 6.04 billion between July and December 2025, according to its latest financial results. Revenue came in strong as well, jumping to EGP 22.56 billion, compared to EGP 18.45 billion in the same period of 2024. On shareholder returns, the company is proposing a cash dividend of EGP 1.45 per share, pending approval at the general assembly. It’s worth noting that the company’s share value is up 8% compared to levels recorded 12 months ago.

⬇️ Arab Dairy Products Co.- Panda (ADPC) saw a sharp reversal in 2025, reporting a net loss of EGP 183.17 million, compared to a profit of EGP 97.08 million the year before, its latest financial statement showed. The downturn came alongside weaker sales, which dropped to EGP 2.57 billion, down from EGP 3.08 billion in 2024. The company’s share price is up 8% over the past 12 months.

In non-earnings news: 

☕ B Investments Holding (BINV), via its subsidiary OB Financial Holding, is set to acquire a 25% stake in Brown Nose Coffee in a deal valuing the company at roughly EGP 1.5 billion, sources told Al Borsa. The transaction, approved by the Egyptian Competition Authority, is expected to close within six weeks and will be executed in stages, starting with EGP 350 million for the initial stake and gradually increasing ownership above 50%. The move is part of B Investments’ plan to deploy EGP 2–3 billion over 2026–2027 in defensive sectors like education, food, and healthcare.

🔔 The government has submitted listing documents to the EGX for five state-owned firms—El Nahda Industries, Egyptian Ferroalloys Company, El Nasr Glass, El Nasr Mining, and Alexandria Co. for Refractories—with stakes ranging from 20% to 40% under review by the Financial Regulatory Authority. This move is part of a broader privatization push, with plans to list or divest up to 20 state-owned firms, aiming to generate USD 3–4 billion by 2026 and as much as USD 6 billion by the following fiscal year.

April 6th:

Commercial International Bank - record date for EGP 6 per share. The distribution date is April 9.

Housing and Development Bank - record date for EGP 8 per share. The distribution date is April 9.

April 7th:

Arab Moltaqa Investments - record date for EGP 0.10 per share. The distribution date is April 14.

April 9th:

Arabian Cement - record date for EGP 5.34 per share. The distribution date is April 16.

Al Baraka Bank - record date for EGP 1.1 per share. The distribution date is April 16.

Egyptians for Housing and Development - record date for EGP 0.10 per share. The distribution date is April 16.

🏦 In its first meeting since the outbreak of the Iran war, the Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday kept key interest rates unchanged—overnight deposit at 19%, lending at 20%, and main operation and discount rates at 19.5%—citing rising domestic inflation and heightened regional uncertainty. The MPC also noted global pressures, including surging energy and food prices, disrupted trade flows, and slower economic growth. Domestically, the central bank expects real GDP growth to ease to around 4.8–5.0% in Q1 2026, down from 5.3% in Q4 2025 as the war continues.

💵 Egypt’s net foreign assets fell for the first time in five months in February, dropping 7.2% month-on-month to USD 27.4 billion, according to Central Bank data. The decline reverses January’s record high of USD 29.5 billion and reflects the initial balance-sheet impact of heightened regional tensions around the US-Israel conflict with Iran, which prompted some foreign investors to partially exit local debt.