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Shares in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk Cement rose on Sunday, as the company announced a net profit for the first quarter (Q1) of this year.
Q1 2019 net profit after zakat and tax amounted to 3.63 million Saudi riyals ($959.92 thousand), compared to a net loss of 11.23 million riyals in Q1 2018.
The profit meant the firm beat EFG Hermes’ estimate of a net loss of 1 million riyals.
“Overall, the results were not a complete surprise, as we were expecting a recovery in the company's operations,” Sameer Kattiparambil, an analyst at EFG Hermes, told Zawya by email.
“Having said that, the surge in cement prices to SAR180 in a low-demand region was surprising for us,” Kattiparambil added.
The company’s Q1 2019 revenue rose to 52.8 million riyals from 46.7 million riyals in Q1 2018, a 13.06 percent increase, which was close to 14 percent higher than EFG Hermes’ estimate.
“We currently have a Neutral rating on Tabuk as its valuation seems full (2020e EV/EBITDA of 10x), and its balance sheet is still unenticing,” EFG Hermes’ Kattiparambil said.
“We will be revisiting our numbers once the full financials are released,” he ended.
The company’s share price rose 1.82 percent by 14:21 GST to 12.3 riyals on Thursday and is 10.81 percent higher so far this year.
(Reporting by Gerard Aoun; Editing by Michael Fahy)
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