The story of Saudi Fisheries Company does not begin with the resignation of its chairman, nor with the rejection of the capital increase in September 2026. To understand what happened, it is necessary to take a step back and examine three developments that unfolded simultaneously: the decline in operating activity, repeated capital restructurings, and changes in the ownership of the major shareholder.

The figures first reveal the scale of the operational problem. The company’s revenue fell from approximately SAR 52.2 million in 2023 to SAR 19 million in 2024, then to approximately SAR 4.1 million in 2025, before the company reported zero revenue in the first half of 2026. Losses declined in parallel, but this improvement cannot be viewed separately from the contraction in activity and expenses following the suspension of parts of its sales and distribution operations and the reduction of its workforce.

This point is important because a decline in losses does not necessarily mean that the business model has begun to recover. If sales, activity, and expenses all contract at the same time, the loss may simply decline because the company is conducting less business.

A Recurring Capital Cycle

One of the most striking figures in the report is that, since 2006, the company has raised approximately SAR 734 million through rights issues, while reducing its capital several times to write off accumulated losses, totaling approximately SAR 767 million according to the report’s calculations.

In January 2025, the company reduced its capital from SAR 400 million to approximately SAR 67 million, a reduction of 83.25%, to write off accumulated losses.

However, a capital reduction does not inject new liquidity into the company. Essentially, it is a rearrangement of equity to address past losses.

That is why accumulated losses returned later, reaching approximately SAR 20.9 million in June 2026, or 31.2% of the capital.

This highlights the difference between repairing the balance sheet and repairing the business: a company can erase the impact of past losses from an accounting perspective, but continued operational weakness reproduces the problem.

SAR 335 Million More… But Where Will It Go?

After reducing the capital, the board proposed raising it again through a SAR 334.93 million rights issue, equivalent to a 500% increase.

The funds were not intended solely to restart the fisheries business; approximately SAR 250 million, or nearly three-quarters of the offering, was earmarked for date trading and the establishment of a manufacturing and logistics services plant. Amounts were also allocated to working capital, the payment of expenses, creditors, loans, and offering costs.

Thus, the issue was no longer simply a matter of “financing a distressed fisheries company”; it became a question of strategic transformation in capital allocation: can the new funds be used to build a different revenue engine?

The Major Shareholder and Ownership Trajectory

The report also discusses the transfer of a 39.99% stake to Abdulaziz Al-Humaid in 2024, followed by a gradual decline in his ownership to approximately 10.22% in March 2026.

The report distinguishes between official disclosures and media estimates. The actual execution prices for some of the sales and the identities of the buyers were not available in public disclosures, nor do public data reveal how the major shareholder voted at the latest general meeting.

This is an important methodological point: putting events in chronological order does not establish a causal relationship between them.

The report also found no regulatory action related to these events in the sources it reviewed. Therefore, it is not appropriate to move from the published data to conclusions about a violation without additional official information or decisions.

72.36% Approved… But the Resolution Failed

On September 27, 2026, 72.36% of the votes represented at the meeting approved the capital increase.

Nevertheless, the increase was not approved.

The reason is that capital increase resolutions require the approval of three-quarters of the voting rights represented at the meeting, or 75%.

The shortfall was only about 2.64 percentage points.

On the same day, the board accepted the resignation of its chairman, while the official disclosure cited “personal circumstances” as the reason for his resignation.

What Should We Watch Next?

Following the rejection of the rights issue, the key question became less about “Can the company raise funds?” and more about another question:

How will it refinance its plan after losing a funding source that was expected to provide nearly SAR 335 million?

Indicators worth monitoring include the completion of the Al-Haridah transaction, the return of revenue, the development of accumulated losses, new financing alternatives, and the composition and leadership of the board.

The real test is not the size of the capital, but the capital’s ability to generate sustainable revenue and cash flows.

Full analytical report:
Financial Performance Analysis - Saudi Fisheries Company - Prepared and Presented by Al Yamamah University Students