Qatar National Bank Financial Services (QNBFS) issued a report on Gulf Warehousing Co. “GWCS”, stating that the company’s figures were in line with estimates.

Gulf Warehousing reported a net profit of QR28.9mn vs. vs. estimates of QR28.9mn and net income of QR26.8mn in 4Q2013. Overall revenue increased to QR152.9mn in 1Q2014 vs. QR127.9mn in 4Q2013, a growth of 19.6% QoQ. Logistics operations (including LVQ) contributed QR104.8mn while freight forwarding contributed QR48.1mn. The growth primarily came from LVQ Phase 3 greater occupancy levels. Direct costs were QR98.9mn, while interest charges were QR8.6mn for the quarter.

Going forward, “we expect net income to grow by 20.9% and 44.8% in 2014 and 2015, respectively. We expect better operating performance in 2014 & 2015 on the back of LVQ Phases 3 & 4. In 2014, we expect the full impact of Phase 3, along with an incremental benefit of LVQ Phase 4. However, the full impact of Phase 4 will be visible in 2015. We expect GWCS’ bottom-line to increase by 20.9% YoY in 2014 and 44.8% YoY in 2015. The company trades at a premium to its regional and global peers. The stock trades at a P/E ratio of 22.7x on our 2014 estimates and offers a dividend yield of 3.4%”, according to QNBFS.

“We maintain our estimates with a price target of QR51.35 but change our rating to Reduce. We expect better operating performance in 2014 & 2015 on the back of LVQ Phase 3 & 4. However, given the recent stock’s appreciation (up 41.2% with a total return of 46.5% on a year-to-date), we change our rating to Reduce”, Qatar National Bank Financial Services reported.