[ET Net News Agency, 1 November 2019] Daiwa Research lowered its target price for Air
China (00753) to HK$7.9 from HK$11.6 and reiterated its "outperform" rating.
Air China held a post-results conference call on 31 October. The research house sees a
more cautious view from management than before, but it expects a less challenging
environment in 2020.
For 4Q, Air China plans to hike the ASK for domestic routes by 4%. Management is
positive on ASK hikes for the Japan, South Korea, APEC and Australia markets, but may cut
the ASK for the US and Europe markets.
Management expects the domestic market to improve mildly in 2020 with fewer negatives
and plans to increase its capacity by >6%. Daiwa cut its 2019-21 EPS forecasts by 32-39%
given the longer-than-expected passenger yield weakness and less optimistic outlook for
2020. (KL)