Al Othaim posts in-line Q1 profit on sales growth: NCB Capital

Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Co.’s Q1 2017 net profit of SAR 60.2 million – its highest first-quarter profit on record – came in-line with NCB Capital’s estimate of SAR 60.9 million, the brokerage said in an earnings review on Wednesday.

The growth can mainly be attributed to an increase in sales, which grew 16.8 percent year-on-year (YoY) to a record high of SAR 1.87 billion in Q1, matching the forecast of SAR 1.85 billion.

Gross margins came in at 17.1 percent, also in-line with NCB Capital’s estimate of 17 percent.

Al Othaim remains the brokerage’s top pick in the local retail sector, the report added.

“We believe aggressive store openings and opex efficiencies are key positives, which would drive the earnings going forward,” NCB Capital said.

The firm maintained its “overweight” rating on the stock, leaving the target price unchanged at SAR 111.3.