RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index on Tuesday gained 25.36 points — or 0.24 percent — to close at 10,051.78, led by healthy buying in the telecom sector. While MSCI Tadawul 30 Index increased 0.31 percent to 1,428.40, the parallel market Nomu closed slightly lower at 18,868.33. TASI’s total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.58 billion ($1.22 billion) as 77 stocks of the listed 224 advanced and 132 retracted. The telecom sector witnessed the highest buying as it closed 2.53 percent higher to 6,826.07, spurred by Mobile Telecommunication Co. Saudi Arabia and Saudi Telecom Co., which closed over 3 percent to SR10.94 and SR37.60, respectively. Thimar Development Holding Co. was the best performer on Tuesday as its share price surged 9.92 percent to SR25.15. Shares of National Co. for Learning and Education, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group and United International Transportation Co. hit their highest levels in 52 weeks. Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co., however, was the poorest performer as its share price plunged 6.22 percent to SR58.80. On the announcements front, Maharah Human Resources Co. reported a 6 percent increase in net profit to SR154.1 million in the year ended Dec. 31, 2022, from SR144.9 million in 2021. The company’s revenues rose 27.67 percent to SR1.68 billion in 2022 from SR1.32 billion in 2021. Earnings per share jumped to SR4.11 last year from SR3.86 in the earlier year. According to its statement, the climb in revenues was due to a 20 percent year-on-year increase in the corporate segment, 34 percent in the individual part and a 19 percent spurt in the average number of resources. Its board of directors recommended on March 6 to raise its capital by 26.7 percent from SR375 million to SR475 million. In a statement on Tadawul, Maharah stated that a total of 7.5 million shares would be distributed as bonus shares to shareholders, one for every five outstanding shares. Additionally, the board decided to distribute a 10 percent cash dividend for the second half of 2022, at SR1 per share, amounting to SR37.5 million. The company’s share price closed slightly lower to SR60. Ataa Educational Co. posted a 41 percent drop in the net profit after zakat and tax to SR30.6 million for the first half ending on Jan. 31, 2023, from SR52.6 million a year earlier. According to a statement to Tadawul, the profit decline was due to calculating non-recurring gains in the same period of the previous year resulting from the acquisition of Arab Group Co. for Education and Training for SR38.1 million. The company’s earnings for the second quarter ending Jan.31, 2023, touched SR9.6 million, compared with SR1.19 million a year earlier. Its share price leaped 2.25 percent to SR59.20. Consumer durable distributor Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker Co. reported a 20 percent increment in net profit to SR32.8 million for 2022 from SR27.4 million a year earlier. However, Shaker incurred a net loss of SR2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 versus net earnings of SR0.32 million in the prior-year period. Its share price slumped 1 percent to SR18.70.