The share price response to interim financial reports in less-developed countries : the case of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract EN

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of published interim financial reports (IFR) on share prices of companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

In this paper, we investigated the effect of quarterly earnings announcements on the weekly share prices of 39 Saudi listed companies.

Specifically, 774 quarterly announcements of earnings made by Saudi companies between the first quarter of 1987 and the fourth quarter of 1991 are analysed using an event study methodology.

The results of this study suggest that publication of the first, second and third quarters' reports were not associated with any significant share price reaction.The main share price response occurred when the final quarter's statements were issued indicating that the fourth quarter alone appeared to cause investors to revise then-belief about the worth of their shares.