[ET Net News Agency, 27 October 2020] Nomura lifted its target price for China
Resources Cement (CRC) (01313) to HK$14 from HK$13.5 and maintained its "buy" rating.
The research house said CRC's 3Q net profit of HK$3.2bn (up 58%) was 60% ahead of
Nomura's forecast. The strong earnings improvement could be mainly due to less rainfall,
while the strong beat is led by (1) higher cement shipment due to favorable weather
conditions; (2) lower opex ratio; and (3) lower effective income tax.
Amid the bearish sentiment on the cement sector, Nomura thinks that CRC's outstanding
3Q results could serve as a positive catalyst for both CRC and the entire sector. It
revised up its 2020/21 earnings forecasts by 9%/8%. (KL)