Madinet Masr (EGX: MASR) said on 4 August 2026 that it had completed the purchase of 1% of its total outstanding shares under the treasury share buyback programme its board approved on 28 June 2026. That authorisation covers up to 2% of total shares through open-market transactions, in compliance with regulations issued by the Financial Regulatory Authority and the Egyptian Exchange.

The announcement describes the completion of a phase of the programme, not its end. The developer said the purchase reflects confidence in its financial performance, financial position and growth prospects, and that it continues to implement the programme as part of a strategy to balance operational growth against investment returns. The company disclosed neither the price paid nor the number of shares acquired.

The results the buyback sits alongside

Two days later, on 6 August 2026, Madinet Masr published consolidated results for the six months to 30 June 2026, and they show a business growing at the top and contracting at the bottom.

New sales rose 18.7% to EGP 28.4 billion from EGP 23.9 billion, on 2,971 units sold, up 70.9%. Deliveries rose 130.3% to 1,200 units, and revenue from unit deliveries rose 187.8%. Total revenue was EGP 5,135 million, up 7.2% from EGP 4.8 billion. The unrecognised revenue backlog reached EGP 104.6 billion at the end of June 2026, 10.1% higher than at the end of December 2025.

Profitability moved the other way. Gross profit fell 14.3% to EGP 2,691 million, EBITDA fell 23.4% to EGP 1,308 million at a margin of 25.5%, and net profit fell 19.9% to EGP 1,027 million. The gross profit margin was 52.4% and the net profit margin 20.0%, against 26.8% a year earlier. The company attributes the decline to the delivery of units in older projects carrying relatively lower margins, and to profit from co-development projects being deferred and recognised on delivery.

Cash improved. Net collections rose 38.0% to EGP 9.9 billion, with the uncollected rate improving from 1.8% to 1.0%. Net cash and short term investments reached EGP 7.1 billion at 30 June 2026, up 27.0% on year-end 2025, moving the company from a net debt position of EGP 329.2 million to net cash of EGP 163.3 million.

Portfolio and distributions

Talala and The Butterfly, both recently launched co-development projects, together contributed 49.1% of new sales in the half, with Sarai leading the increase. The company awarded construction contracts worth EGP 5.7 billion during the period.

On the commercial side, D2N, a district within Sarai spanning 106,321 sqm across four phases, carries an estimated total inventory value of EGP 40 billion, with two phases launched so far. KLOK, a commercial strip with 15,000 sqm of gross land and a total inventory value of EGP 2.7 billion, has sold 95% of its administrative units and includes approximately 5,000 sqm of commercial space designated for lease.

Shareholders received two distributions before the buyback began. In March the company paid a stock dividend equivalent to approximately EGP 0.226 per share at a ratio of 4.17%, followed by a cash dividend of EGP 0.15 per share in May 2026, a combined distribution of approximately EGP 0.376 per share. The company puts the resulting yield at approximately 9% against the closing share price on 31 December 2025, and total shareholder return for the half at 82%, with the stock rising 73% from EGP 4.23 on 31 December 2025 to EGP 7.30 on 30 June 2026 and touching EGP 7.69 in June.

Analysis: a buyback that follows the run, not the discount

The sequence is what makes this disclosure worth reading closely. The board approved the programme on 28 June 2026, two days before the close of a half in which the shares had risen 73% and set an all-time high of EGP 7.69. The authorisation followed a rise rather than a decline in the share price. The stated rationale is confidence in financial performance, financial position and growth prospects; the announcement states no view on the share price.

The buyback also lands in the same fortnight as results showing net profit down 19.9% on revenue up 7.2%. Those two facts are not in conflict, because the cash position explains both. Collections of EGP 9.9 billion against revenue of EGP 5,135 million show a developer taking in far more cash than it recognises as revenue, which is normal for off-plan sales and is exactly what a backlog of EGP 104.6 billion implies. The move from net debt of EGP 329.2 million to net cash of EGP 163.3 million is what pays for share purchases. The buyback is funded by collections, not by earnings.

What the disclosure does not establish is the cost. Neither the number of shares nor the average price is given, so the capital committed cannot be calculated from the public record, and the second 1% remains unexercised with no stated timetable. The next regulatory filing is the document in which the consideration, the resulting treasury holding and any further purchases under the remaining 1% would be named.

The margin trend is the other thing to carry forward. Gross margin of 52.4% is high, but gross profit fell in absolute terms while revenue rose, which means mix moved against the company as older, lower-margin inventory was handed over. Deliveries more than doubled, so that mix effect should recur while the older projects are worked through. Against that, co-development profit is being deferred to delivery, and Talala and The Butterfly supplied nearly half of new sales in the half, which points to recognition arriving in later periods rather than being lost. On the company’s own description, the half year accounts recognise the delivered, lower-margin projects while deferring co-development profit to later periods. Both statements can be checked against the backlog conversion disclosed in the next release.

Company and market data

Madinet Masr trades as MASR.CA on the Egyptian Exchange. On 2 September 2026 the shares stood at EGP 7.71, having opened at EGP 7.73 and traded between EGP 7.65 and EGP 7.76 on volume of 5,675,654 shares and turnover of EGP 43,706,986, giving a market capitalisation of EGP 16.46 billion. The 52-week range runs from EGP 4.01 to EGP 8.51.

The company was established in 1959, listed on the Egyptian Exchange in 1996 and rebranded from Madinet Nasr in 2023. It developed Nasr City, which it describes as the largest neighbourhood in Greater Cairo with a population of over three million people, and now holds a land portfolio of 12.6 million sqm. Its two largest developments in East Cairo are Taj City, at 3.6 million sqm, and Sarai, at 5.5 million sqm. Zahw, launched in 2023, is a 104 acre development west of Assiut Governorate. Partnerships include a project in New Heliopolis City covering 491 feddans, a residential project in the fourth phase of Mostakbal City covering 238 feddans, and a contract to develop 42 acres in New Heliopolis City with Zahraa Maadi Investment and Development.