[ET Net News Agency, 4 May 2020] Morgan Stanley lowered its target price for Want Want
China Holdings (00151) to HK$6 from HK$6.5 due to our lower earnings estimates and
maintained its "equal-weight" rating.
The research house revised down its recurring earnings forecasts by 6% for FY2020 and 7%
for FY2021. The 3% decline in FY2019 is due to lower sales, especially of gift packs and
dairy/beverage products during the 2020 Chinese New Year after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Conversely, Morgan expects relatively steady sales of rice crackers. It also factored in
a higher A&P ratio in 2020-21 to reflect the efforts to strengthen branding, leading to a
lower OPM (operating profit margin) by 0.8-1ppt. (KL)