Today: We have news that Spinalex returned to profit as its takeover process advanced + news that Madinet Masr expanded its treasury share buyback program. Let’s jump in.

🔔 EGX30 ended +0.5% by market close at 52,311 points, the EGX70 rose 1.7% to 16,281 points, and the EGX100 rose 1.5% to reach 22,067 points.

💸 The number of transactions reached 189,722 spread across 2,721,615,648 stocks leading to a turnover of EGP 9.452 billion.

🏷️Regional investors were the only net sellers. 

📈 Top gainers for the market as a whole included United Housing & Development (+20.0%), Naeem Real Estate Holding Group (+20.0%), Gharbia Islamic Housing Development (+19.2%)

📉 Top losers for the market included Saudi Egyptian Investment & Finance (-5.0%), GMC Group for Industrial, Commercial & Financial Investments (-4.6%), and Middle & West Delta Flour Mills (-3.1%).

⬆️ Top gainers for EGX30 were Heliopolis Housing (+7.3%), Emaar Misr (+2.8%), and Raya Holding (+2.6%).

⬇️ Top losers for EGX30 included AMOC (-2.2%), Abu Qir Fertilizers (-1.8%), and TMG Holding (-0.7%).

Other Important Stats: 

🧈 24K Gold reached EGP 6,702 per gram, up 0.2% day-on-day but down 8.6% month-on-month.

💲 The USD reached EGP 49.65 at the National Bank of Egypt.

Alexandria Spinning and Weaving "Spinalex" (SPIN) swung back to profitability during the first nine months of FY2025/26, reporting a net profit of EGP 13.59 million compared with a EGP 13.6 million loss in the same period a year earlier, according to an EGX filing. Despite the earnings turnaround, revenue fell over 11% year-on-year to EGP 490.69 million from EGP 553.26 million.

Takeover process advances

Separately, the company's board appointed FACT Financial Advisory as the independent financial adviser to prepare a fair value assessment of the stock following the voluntary tender offer submitted by a consortium comprising New Construction Chemical and Escom for Real Estate Investment. The valuation report will form the basis of the board's opinion, which will then be disclosed to shareholders.

Background

The consortium is seeking to acquire 48.41 million shares, representing 13.42% of Alexandria Spinning's share capital, at EGP 15 per share. The bidders already own a 19.58% stake in the company, and the offer remains open through August 3. The offer represents a 20.7% premium to the stock's three-month average price of EGP 12.429. SPIN closed last Thursday at EGP 14.55, up 45.8% since the start of 2026. Under FRA regulations, the board must issue its opinion after reviewing the independent adviser's report, with the bidders and their related parties excluded from the vote.

Madinet Masr (MASR) has been steadily accumulating its own shares since the board approved a treasury share buyback program on June 28, with the latest purchase of 1.35 million shares bringing total disclosed acquisitions under the program to 6.75 million shares, according to a company statement. Treasury share buybacks reduce the number of shares in circulation and are commonly used to help support a company's share price.

How the buying unfolded

The purchases have come in steady tranches across six disclosed trading sessions: 1.35 million shares on Thursday, 1.5 million on Tuesday, 950k shares on July 6, 1.25 million shares on July 5, 1.2 million shares on July 1, and 500k shares on June 29.

A stock that's been on the move

The buyback program has coincided with a strong rally in MASR shares. The stock gained 5.2% over the past trading week to close at EGP 7.73 on Thursday. The gains extend well beyond the past week, with the stock up 11.5% over the past month and 82.3% since the start of the year.

Dates to keep an eye out for

July 15:

Hepco for Commercial Investments and Real Estate Development - record date for 0.8 bonus shares per original share. The distribution date is July 16.

July 20:

B Investments - record date for USD 0.030 per share. The distribution date is July 26.

July 26:

Lotus For Agricultural Investment- record date for 0.266 bonus share per original share. The distribution date is July 27.

July 29:

GB Corp - distribution date for EGP 0.15 per share. The record date was April 26.

July 30: 

Misr Fertilizers Production - distribution date for EGP 1 per share. The record date was May 3.

Talaat Moustafa Group - distribution date for EGP 0.15 per share. The record date was May 18.

📈 Egypt has officially scrapped capital gains tax on stock market trades and reinstated a stamp duty, with buyers and sellers now paying a 0.05% levy on each transaction, while day traders will pay half that rate, FRA Chairman Islam Azzam told Asharq Bloomberg. Regulators say the new system is easier to calculate and administer, as the FRA also prepares to roll out short-selling rules to broaden trading tools and deepen market liquidity.

📉 Egypt's annual urban inflation eased to 14.3% in June from 14.6% in May, while monthly inflation slowed to 1.2% from 1.6% in May. The moderation was driven by lower food prices, with vegetables down 12.1% month-on-month, meat and poultry falling 5.2%, dairy products dropping 2%, and overall food and beverage prices declining 3.2%. Despite the slowdown, the CBE and economists still expect inflationary pressures to build later this year as recent fuel price hikes work their way through the economy.

🏦 The Central Bank of Egypt left interest rates unchanged at its latest meeting, keeping the overnight deposit rate at 19%, the overnight lending rate at 20%, and both the main operation and discount rates at 19.5%. Policymakers said the decision reflects their assessment of recent inflation trends and the broader economic outlook since the committee's previous meeting.

💵 Remittances from Egyptians working overseas continued their strong momentum, rising 31.2% year-on-year to USD 43.1 billion during the first 11 months of FY2025/26, according to data from the Central Bank of Egypt. May alone brought in USD 3.9 billion, up 13.5% from a year earlier, reinforcing remittances as one of Egypt's largest and most reliable sources of foreign currency.