AlJazira Cap says Almarai’s Q1 2021 net profit above expectation; maintains ‘Neutral’ rating

Almarai Co. headquarters

Almarai Co.’s net profit of SAR 385.9 million in Q1 2021 beat AlJazira Capital’s earnings expectations of SAR 341.3 million, the brokerage said in a recent report.

The difference was mainly due to lower-than-expected finance expenses, along with Almarai’s strong cost control resulting in a decline in operating expenses. Revenues grew by 1.5% driven mainly by dairy category and alfalfa sales.

“Almarai’s revenue and profit growth is expected to hover at the low-single digits in 2021 on higher VAT implementation, lower subsidy, and higher demand last year that was largely driven by COVID-19,” the report said.

AlJazira Capital maintained “Neutral” rating on Almarai, while raising the target price of (TP) to SAR 52 per share from SAR 50.