Thursday 15 November 2012

Golden Agri-Resources

OCBC on 14 Nov 2012

Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) reported a weak set of 3Q12 results. Although revenue rose 7% YoY and 25% QoQ to US$1672.5m, aided by a strong production increase, reported net profit fell 22% YoY and 21% QoQ to US$85.9m; this was also weighed by its China operations turning in a net loss of US$26m in the quarter. For 9M12, revenue fell 2% to US$4533.2m, meeting 82% of our original FY12 forecast, while net profit slipped 32% to US$356.0m, or just 65% of full-year estimate. As such, we are paring FY12 net profit by 17%. We believe that the street will similarly be looking to pare estimates to reflect the weaker-than-expected margins. In addition, we are easing our valuation peg from 12.5x to 10.5x even as we push out to FY13F EPS from blended FY12/13 previously, and this drops our fair value from S$0.76 to S$0.65. We also downgrade the stock to HOLD and would be buyers below S$0.60 as before.

Weak 3Q12 results
Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) reported a weak set of 3Q12 results. Although revenue rose 7% YoY and 25% QoQ to US$1672.5m, aided by a strong production increase, reported net profit fell 22% YoY and 21% QoQ to US$85.9m; this was also weighed by its China operations turning in a net loss of US$26m in the quarter. For 9M12, revenue fell 2% to US$4533.2m, meeting 82% of our original FY12 forecast, while net profit slipped 32% to US$356.0m, or just 65% of full-year estimate.

Declares 0.6 cent interim dividend
Interestingly, GAR also declared a first-ever interim dividend of 0.6 S cent, which management explains is the “best option” to reduce negative carry of excess cash. Recall that it raised some US$400m from its convertible bonds, originally intended for M&A activity, but is unlikely to happen in 4Q12. GAR also points to the strong operating cashflow generated in 9M12 even though it still intends to spend US$500m in capex this year. As before, US$250m will be used to expand its upstream assets and the rest for downstream capabilities.

Paring earnings forecast on weak margins outlook
Although management maintains an upbeat outlook for the palm oil industry, citing the resilient demand for CPO, we note that near-term issues remain. In particular, the growing stockpile, which hit 483m tonnes in 3Q12 from 431m in 2Q12, could take a while to clear. As such, we are paring FY12 net profit by 17%. We believe that the street will similarly be looking to pare estimates to reflect the weaker-than-expected margins. 

Downgrade to HOLD
In addition, we are easing our valuation peg from 12.5x to 10.5x even as we push out to FY13F EPS from blended FY12/13 previously, and this drops our fair value from S$0.76 to S$0.65. We also downgrade the stock to HOLD and would be buyers below S$0.60 as before.

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