Alistithmar Cap issues Q3 forecasts, expects SABIC’s profit to drop 9%

Alistithmar Capital has issued its third quarter profit forecasts for a number of Tadawul-listed banks and firms under its coverage.

Petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) is likely to report a net profit of SAR 5.11 billion for Q3-2016, a 9 percent year-on-year (YoY) decline, the brokerage firm said in a new report.

Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co. (SAFCO) and Advanced Petrochemical Co. (APC) are expected to post profit declines of 58 percent and 17 percent YoY in Q3, respectively.

Meanwhile, Yanbu National Petrochemical Co. (Yansab) is the only petrochemical firm under Alistithmar’s coverage that will see an earnings surge of 111 percent YoY for the same period.

In the banking sector, Al-Rajhi Bank and Riyad Bank are projected to post the biggest profit growth of 24 percent and 17 percent YoY, respectively.

Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) will likely see its net profit dipping by 7 percent YoY to SAR 2.2 billion. Zain Saudi is forecast to incur a net loss of SAR 204 million.

Double digit declines have been projected for Qassim Cement and Yanbu Cement, while Saudi Cement is expected to see a profit drop of 6 percent YoY.