Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Alistithmar Capital said Monday that profits reached by Yanbu Cement in the first quarter of fiscal 2016 significantly matches its expectations.

Alistithmar recommended ‘Neutral’ on the company’s stock, setting the target price at SAR 48 ($12.80), with a 6.6% upside potential, compared to closing price of SAR 44.82 ($11.95) on Sunday.

The cement producer generated SAR 184 million ($49.07 million) earnings in the three-month period, down 11.11% from SAR 207 million ($55.2 million) reported in the same period a year earlier.

Alistithmar’s estimates for Yanbu Cement’s net profit in Q1-15 reached SAR 189 million ($50.4 million).

The research firm said that it downgraded the stock’s target price due to the removal of subsidies, which will consequently lead to higher costs.