Saudi cement sector long-term outlook seen positive: NCBC

23/06/2019 Argaam Special

NCB Capital adopts a positive long-term outlook for the Saudi cement sector, driven by mega projects and an increase in state capital expenditure, it said in a recent report.

Cement firms in the Western and North-western regions will benefit from the anticipated mega projects in these areas, the report said.

Local cement sales will likely decline by 5-10 percent in 2019, before it rises in 2020 backed by the new projects, it said.

The research firm recommendations on stock ratings varied for cement producers under coverage. It revised Southern Cement rating up a notch to “overweight”, while Saudi Cement’s rating retreated to “Underweight” from “Neutral”.

NCB Capital maintained its recommendation for Yanbu Cement at “Overweight”. Also for Arabian Cement, Yamama Cement, Qassim Cement and Eastern Cement the rating remained at “Neutral”.

NCBC Recommendations

Company

Recommendation

Target price (SAR/share)

Previous

New

Previous

New

Yanbu

Overweight

Overweight

37.00

35.70

Southern

Neutral

Overweight

46.30

57.40

Arabian

Neutral

Neutral

36.70

30.00

Yamama

Neutral

Neutral

15.40

19.30

Qassim

Neutral

Neutral

46.00

42.90

Eastern

Neutral

Neutral

28.50

29.50

Saudi

Neutral

Underweight

54.50

58.30


News

Prices

Aramco IPONew

Sectors

Companies

Financial Data

Financial Ratios

Analysts

IPOs

Economy

Mutual Funds

Projects

Interactive Charts