[ET Net News Agency, 1 March 2018] HSBC Global Research lowered its target price for
Esprit Holdings (00330) to HK$3.5 from HK$4.3, and reiterated its "buy" rating.
The research house said Esprit reported a net loss of HK$954m for 1H FY2018 (six months
to December 2017), in line with its profit warning.
HSBC noted that Esprit booked an impairment loss for goodwill and customer relations of
China operations, which had a HK$794m negative impact. Excluding this, it estimated core
net loss would be HK$176m. Cash balance was HK$4.6bn, or 80% of market cap.
Esprit will now focus on sales growth as they see new opportunities while costs have
stabilized. HSBC is encouraged by new top-line initiatives, but it lacks conviction in a
successful turnaround in the near term. It is also concerned about potentially higher opex
before sales pick up. For FY2018, HSBC now expects a net loss of HK$900m (from HK$771m)
and for FY2019/20, it sees net profit of HK$202m/324m, from HK$206m/HK$330m previously.
(KL)