NCB’s Q4 profit beats forecasts, says Riyad Cap

National Commercial Bank’s (NCB) Q4 2017 net profit of SAR 2.56 billion topped Riyad Capital’s estimate of SAR 2.33 billion, and consensus forecasts of SAR 2.28 billion, the brokerage firm said in an earnings review.

NCB’s special commission income of SAR 4.37 billion came in line with Riyad Capital’s estimate of SAR 4.32 billion.

Investments have fallen by SAR 2.5 billion. Net advances dropped to SAR 249 billion in Q4 2017 from SAR 257 billion in the previous quarter. Deposits, however, grew by more than SAR 6 billion leading to a decline in loan-to-deposit ratio of 78 percent.

Operating expenses were restricted to below SAR 2 billion.

“We believe provisions likely accrued close to our expectations of SAR 410 million but there was a decline in salaries and other admin expenses, Riyad Capital said.

The bank is projected to post net profit of SAR 10.1 billion this year.

The brokerage firm added that it downgraded NCB to “neutral” with the stock’s target price unchanged at SAR 62.00.