[ET Net News Agency, 20 January 2021] Nomura raised its target price for Shenzhou
International (02313) to HK$176.2 from HK$154.7 and maintained its "buy" rating.
The research house expects Shenzhou's order book to see a strong recovery since 4Q 2020
as customers' order placements were cautious in previous quarters post COVID-19, which
lead to low inventory levels.
As such, Nomura expects order flow to be strong leading up to 1H 2021 for Shenzhou. In
addition, the logistic disruption for fabrics has likely shifted some orders from
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Jordan to Vietnam and China, which would help to boost
Shenzhou's order book.
Given the company's aggressive labor hiring schedule and efficiency improvement, Nomura
expects FY2021 capacity to increase by 15%. ASP trends should be favorable in FY2021, as
mask production is likely to drop alongside the wider distribution of vaccines, as well as
raw material prices trending up. (KL)