[ET Net News Agency, 26 January 2021] Morgan Stanley lifted its target price for Tingyi
(Cayman Islands) (00322) to HK$17.8 from HK$17.4 and maintained its "overweight" rating.
The research house said the stock has fallen 9% since September 2020 due to market
concerns on the high base in 1H 2020 and a slowdown in instant noodle retail sales in 2H
2020.
Morgan believes Tingyi can deliver sales growth of 8% with recurring earnings growth of
28% in 2H on market share gains, but anticipated a 4% decline in reported earnings due to
a lower one-off net disposable gain (Rmb200mn in 2H 2020 versus Rmb500mn in 2H 2019).
For 2021, Morgan expects the two halves to show divergent performance due to disparate
bases; it estimated 0.4% sales and -9% reported earnings growth in 1H versus earnings
growth of 25% for 2H, supported by channel reforms to ease bottlenecks in distribution, a
ramp-up of new products such as Rmb2 water, and continued capacity optimization. (KL)