MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi Telecom lifts index with strong Q4 earnings | Reuters:
"Saudi Arabia's telecom sector helped lift the bourse on Tuesday after Saudi Telecom Co (STC), its second biggest firm by market value, posted an earnings surge. Most other regional markets also gained.
STC beat analysts' estimates as it made a net profit of 3.62 billion riyals ($965 million), up from 393 million riyals in the prior-year period. Analysts on average forecast STC's profit would be 2.51 billion riyals.
Although the profit jump was mainly due a change in STC's method of accounting for an Indian unit, Saudi retail investors tend to look at headline numbers.
"The main reasons for the strong reported net income are the increased cost efficiencies, which commenced in third quarter 2013," Abdulelah Babgi, an analyst at NCB Capital in Riyadh, said in a note. "This is coupled with an improvement in income from associates.""
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