Julphar shares jump 14.4% after Covid-19 vaccine deal

Dubai - The stock became the biggest gainer till mid-day trading on the Abu Dhabi bourse.

Shares of Abu Dhabi-listed Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries, also known as Julphar, jumped more than 14 per cent on Monday morning after it announced an agreement to produce China’s Covid-19 vaccine called Sinopharm.

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The pharmaceutical company said in a statement to Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where it is listed, that it had signed an agreement with G42 Medications Trading LCC to produce Covid-19 vaccines from Sinopharm.

Its shares were trading at Dh1.43 per share, up 14.4 per cent, and became the biggest gainer till mid-day trading on the Abu Dhabi bourse. Its counter saw 108,000 shares exchanging hands in five trades worth Dh154,440.

The Julphar rally also helped the index to gain 1.34 per cent by Monday noon.

The company said in its financial statement that it will continue to focus on building new alliances and partnerships to strengthen the company’s revenue growth and expand its distribution footprint.

In 2020, Julphar had posted a net loss of Dh317.4 million (m), primarily due to one-time non-operational expenses of Dh201.3m.

It reported revenues of Dh581.2m with a growth of 93 per cent over the previous year primarily due to successful market strategies in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, and Egypt.

Any impact on its financials from the Covid-19 vaccine production will appear only during 2021 onward, it added.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai