[ET Net News Agency, 29 November 2019] Nomura raised its target price for Luk Fook
Holdings (00590) to HK$20.9 from HK$20.2 and maintained its "neutral" rating.
The research house believes Luk Fook's higher reliance on the HK market (58% of total
sales in 1H FY2020, versus 30% of Chow Tai Fook) will continue to weigh on Luk Fook's
overall sales.
GPM expanded by 6.2pp y-y to 29.9% in 1H, mainly due to the rising gold price and rising
mix of gem-set products (54% of total sales, versus 47% in 1H FY2019). Nomura expects its
full-year GPM to normalize to 25.7% in FY2020, still implying 0.3pp y-y expansion.
Management expects a single-digit drop in rental renewals for FY2020 and a double-digit
drop for FY2021. Nomura slightly raised its FY2021 earnings by 3% after factoring in lower
sales but better margin. (KL)