Riyadh – Mubasher: Alinma Bank recorded stronger-than-expected results in the first quarter of 2019, according to a report released by NCB Capital (NCBC) on Sunday.

The Saudi lender’s profits rose 21.8% year-on-year to SAR 709 million in Q1-19, compared to the NCBC and consensus estimates of SAR 667 million and SAR 656 million, respectively, the report added.

Lower-than-estimated provisions and increased fee and other income enhanced profitability growth, the research firm noted.

Net special commission income (NSCI) rose 10.8% to SAR 993 million in the first three months of 2019, slightly below NCBC’s estimate of SAR 1 billion on the back of slightly decreased net interest margin (NIM).

NCB Capital set the price target (PT) of Alinma Bank at SAR 23.8 a share, with a "neutral" recommendation.