Cairo - Mubasher: Pharos Research has maintained its “Overweight” recommendation on the stock of Al Baraka Bank - Egypt, with a fair value (FV) evaluation at EGP 18.50 per share.

The valuation is based on a set of key assumptions that underpin the growth potential for the bank, including, the forecasted improvement in corporate financing momentum, as the investment climate in Egypt revives starting 2020, and faster pickup in non-funded income fueled by the potential pickup in financing activity, the research firm said in a note on Tuesday.

The bank reported an 18% year-on-year increase in profits for the first nine months of 2018.

Net profit amounted to EGP 632.4 million in the period between January and September, versus EGP 534.7 million in the same period of 2017.

Net income grew to EGP 1.3 billion in the nine-month period, from EGP 1.09 billion in the year-ago period.