Solutions by stc profit edges up 1.4% as revenue climbs 9.2%

Summary

• Solutions by stc posted nine-month net profit of SAR 1,241 million, up 1.388% year-on-year.
• Revenue rose 9.225% to SAR 9,637 million, driven mainly by core telecom and IT services.
• Third-quarter profit was flat at SAR 417 million, with early retirement costs weighing on margins.

The latest

Nine-month net profit at Solutions by stc reached SAR 1,241 million, a gain of just 1.388% even as revenue climbed 9.225% to SAR 9,637 million. The company told the Saudi Exchange on Monday that third-quarter profit stayed flat at SAR 417 million. Its shares were trading at SAR 90.15, up 3.56%, as the disclosure circulated.

Details

• The filing: Arabian Internet and Communications Services Company, listed as 7202 and known as Solutions by stc, published preliminary consolidated interim results for the nine months ended 30 September 2026 in a Saudi Exchange disclosure dated Monday, 26 October 2026 at 08:05. The auditor's opinion was unmodified.
• The headline numbers: Net profit attributable to shareholders came in at SAR 1,241 million against SAR 1,224 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to SAR 9,637 million from SAR 8,823 million, gross profit to SAR 2,116 million, up 6.922%, and operating profit to SAR 1,395 million, up 9.069%.
• Per-share and equity: Earnings per share stood at SAR 5.21 versus SAR 5.14, adjusted for bonus shares. Total shareholders' equity reached SAR 4,491 million, up 12.471%, the fastest-growing line in the disclosure and well ahead of the profit increase.
• The quarter: Third-quarter net profit was unchanged at SAR 417 million and fell 7.947% from the SAR 453 million recorded in the preceding quarter. Quarterly revenue rose 9.554% to SAR 3,394 million from SAR 3,098 million, widening the gap between sales growth and bottom-line growth.
• What drove revenue: The company attributed the 9.2% nine-month revenue increase mainly to growth in core telecom and information technology services, which rose 19.8%, and in managed IT and operational services, which rose 1.5%. The two segments moved at sharply different speeds over the period.
• The cost item: Solutions said net profit included SAR 23 million in expenses tied to an early retirement programme, while the comparable period had included SAR 20 million in non-recurring fair value gains. It did not disclose the size or timeline of the programme.
• The adjusted figure: Stripping out both items, the company said net profit growth would have been "approximately 5%", more than triple the reported 1.388%. That gap is the clearest measure of how far one-off items shaped the headline result.
• EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, zakat, depreciation and amortisation reached SAR 580 million in the third quarter against SAR 538 million, up 7.8%, and SAR 1,669 million over nine months against SAR 1,508 million, up 10.7% — the strongest growth rate among the disclosed profitability measures.

Background

Solutions by stc is the enterprise technology arm of the stc Group and one of the largest providers of IT and digital infrastructure services to institutional clients in Saudi Arabia. It is listed on the Saudi Exchange under the ticker 7202.

Between the lines

Three disclosed figures point the same way: revenue up 9.225%, EBITDA up 10.7%, but net profit up only 1.388%. The company's own adjusted estimate of roughly 5% growth places most of that divergence in the early retirement charge and the absence of last year's fair value gains, rather than in operating performance. The flat third quarter, against a 9.554% revenue rise, is where the squeeze shows most clearly.

What's next

Final audited results for the period and the full-year 2026 figures are the next disclosures to watch, along with any update on the scale and duration of the early retirement programme and its effect on fourth-quarter margins.

Source: Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) issuer disclosure