Riyadh – Mubasher: Al Jazira Capital, the investment arm of Bank AlJazira, said that the Saudi cement sector is expected to recover from its current downtrend due to producer’s concentration on selling prices and an increase in export sales.

Al Jazira Capital noted that cement selling prices are expected to sustain the high level in the full-year 2019, the Kingdom-based research firm said in a recent report.

Eastern Province’s income is expected to increase by 108.4% year-on-year, to record SAR 145.5 million over the course of 2019.

Al Jazira updates its recommendation on the cement company’s stock to “Neutral” with a revised target price (TP) of SAR 28.80 per share.

Eastern Cement posted a net profit worth SAR 34.4 million during the first quarter of 2019, against estimations of SAR 46 million.

“We expect the company to generate a strong [free cash flow (FCF)] of SAR 120mn, which increases the possibility of higher DPS at SAR 1.25/share during FY19, given a strong balance sheet and zero debt,” the company said.