RHB ups Hai-O earnings forecasts, target price
Tags: Brokers Call | Hai-O Enterprise Bhd | MLM | RHB Research
Written by Financial Daily
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 10:45
RHB Research yesterday raised its fair value for HAI-O ENTERPRISE BHD [] to RM8.80 from RM6.80 after revising upwards its earnings forecasts to take into account the recent stronger-than-expected membership growth at the latter’s multi-level marketing (MLM) division.
“Since June 2009, Hai-O’s MLM division recruitment of new members has increased to an average of 4,000 to 5,000 a month (versus 3,000 to 4,000 in 1HCY09), representing an average increase of 29%,” RHB said in a note.
RHB, which has an outperform call on Hai-O, revised its FY2010-2012 forecasts for the company by between 4% and 26% after increasing projections for new members per month.
The increase in new members was mainly attributed to the success of Hai-O’s advertising activities such as celebrity endorsement and TV commercials for its water filter product (BioAura).
The research house also applied a higher price-earnings ratio (PER) multiple of nine times CY10 earnings (from eight times CY10 earnings previously), “to reflect increased investor participation in mid-cap stocks, lower risk premium and improved market sentiment”.
The PER multiple is still at a 38% discount to its target market capitalisation of 14.5 times PER for the consumer sector, to account for Hai-O’s smaller market capitalisation as well as lower liquidity, RHB added.
It also noted that sales from Hai-O’s recently launched health supplements and anti-aging skincare range have picked up despite initial mediocre sales performance.
“Nevertheless, Hai-O’s star product remains its water filter, which is still gaining popularity especially amongst the bumiputera community. While no figures were provided, management guided that average revenue/distributor continues to grow year-on-year. We forecast average revenue/distributor to increase by an unchanged 5%, 3% and 1% for FY2010-2012,” RHB said.
RHB has yet to input any contributions from Indonesia, where Hai-O had begun initial recruitment activities, having obtained a licence from the Association of MLM in Indonesia in August 2009.
“Recall that Hai-O only invested a total of US$480,000 (RM1.7 million) for its Indonesia venture, which is a minimal amount for the vast potential growth in the Indonesian market.
Management targets a conservative 5,000 to 10,000 new members in FY2010, and projects a minimum one year to break even,” RHB added.
Risks to RHB’s recommendation include the termination of supply agreements from its suppliers in China, stronger-than-expected strengthening of the greenback as well as weaker-than-expected increase in consumer spending.
Hai-O rose 12 sen to close at its intra-day high of RM7.20 yesterday on a volume of 121,400 shares.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, October 28, 2009.
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/152305-rhb-ups-hai-o-earnings-forecasts-target-price.html
Keep INVESTING Simple and Safe (KISS) ****Investment Philosophy, Strategy and various Valuation Methods**** The same forces that bring risk into investing in the stock market also make possible the large gains many investors enjoy. It’s true that the fluctuations in the market make for losses as well as gains but if you have a proven strategy and stick with it over the long term you will be a winner!****Warren Buffett: Rule No. 1 - Never lose money. Rule No. 2 - Never forget Rule No. 1.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment