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Bloomberg
Shares in Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., the oil company known as Taqa, extended gains that drove them to a two-month high even after announcing a record earnings loss.
The stock rose 7.7 percent to 0.56 dirham as of 10:32 a.m. in Abu Dhabi, adding to the previous day’s 13 percent advance. Trading volume was about 30 times the 30-day average for the time of day.
Taqa said on March 30 that it lost 19 billion dirhams ($5.2 billion) last year, compared with AED1.8 billion in 2015, amid one-time impairments.
“Speculators are mainly betting on a turnaround story that could be similar to Gulf Navigation,” said Hisham Khairy, head of institutional trading at Mena Corp. Financial Services in Dubai. “The company has cleared its balance sheet and is ready to move on. The stock could continue moving higher and a break of 0.55 dirham would be very positive.”
Dubai-based shipping company Gulf Navigation Holding PJSC engaged in negotiations with creditors last year as its management said in September it would work intensively “to clear all historical liabilities and backlog.” Shares have climbed about 25 percent since then.