RIYADH: Shares of Saudi conglomerate Kingdom Holding Co. gained nearly 2 percent in Thursday trading after the company announced a massive profit jump for the first half of 2022.

Riyadh-based KHC saw its first-half profit skyrocket by 1,162 percent to SR6.35 billion ($1.7 billion), from SR503 million in the same period last year.

Its revenue more than doubled to SR1.2 billion during the same period, thanks to higher hotel and property sales, according to a bourse filing.

This led to a 1.87 percent jump in the firm’s share price to reach SR9.28 at the closing bell.

Among the major highlights in the first half, KHC closed an SR12.8 billion multisector investment program, following the sale of shares to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal sold part of his stake in KHC to the Public Investment Fund in a $1.5 billion deal, reducing his interest to 78.13 percent.