Riyadh – Mubasher: Riyad Capital expected that Almarai profits would reach SAR 567 million in Q4-16, with a 17% year-on-year growth, leading to full year earnings to SAR 2.2 billion, a record high for Almarai.
"Dividend yield of 1.6% coupled with a 2017E P/E of 24.5x is not enticing at this point. We recommend a Neutral with a SAR 55.00 target price," the research firm said.
The board of Almarai Company recommended the distribution of cash dividends for 2016 at SAR 0.9 per share of 9% of capital.
Riyad Capital added, "2017E P/E of 24.5x is at a premium to TASI’s 15.3x and sector’s 18.7x, while dividend yield is low at 1.6%."
The research firm expected the company's revenues to growth 6.5% year-on-year to SAR 3.8 billion in the fourth quarter of the year as compared to SAR 3.6 billion.
as a result of robust growth in the company’s main segments such as Dairy, Juice and Bakery, full year revenue would hike 8.1%.
