[ET Net News Agency, 10 September 2019] Citi Research lowered its target price for
China Southern Airlines (CSA)(01055) to HK$5.9 from HK$6 and maintained its "buy" rating.
The research house said CSA reported weak 1H results with recurring net profit declining
15%, if excluding one-off & FX losses, mainly dragged by weak yield performance & lowered
utilization of the overall fleet.
On the yield side, CSA performed the worst among the Big 3 in 1H. Nevertheless, CSA
delivered most cost efficiency improvement, thanks to its new management's cost-cutting
initiatives and a lower-than-peer comp base.
Factoring in the research house's latest FX/oil forecasts and lower yield assumption,
Citi cut its 2019-21 earnings by 24%/13%/11%. (KL)