Riyadh-Mubasher: The second-quarter earnings of Almarai Co. were 5.8% higher than estimates of SAR 499 million, Alistithmar Capital said in a report.

The research firm recommended ‘Reduce’ on the stock, setting the target price at SAR 80.07.

The food and beverage company posted a 22% rise in Q2 net earnings to SAR 530.4 million, compared with SAR 433.3 million a year earlier.

Almarai attributed its profit growth to a rise in sales by 11.0%.