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Bumitama Agri - RHB Invest 2020-01-20: Imputing Higher CPO Prices; Maintain BUY

BUMITAMA AGRI LTD. (SGX:P8Z) | SGinvestors.io BUMITAMA AGRI LTD. (SGX:P8Z)

Bumitama Agri - Imputing Higher CPO Prices; Maintain BUY

  • BUY, new target price with 24% upside plus c.3% FY20F yield. See Bumitama Agri Target Price. After imputing our revised CPO prices assumptions, we lift our earnings forecasts for FY20-21 by 13-23%.
  • Since BUMITAMA AGRI (SGX:P8Z) is a pure upstream producer, we believe it will be able to capitalise on higher CPO prices and deliver better earnings in 1H20. Its valuation remains attractive at 14x FY20 P/E, which is at a discount to its regional peers, as well as the averages of its SGX-listed peers.



CPO prices have risen sharply

  • CPO prices have risen sharply to > MYR3,000/tonne. While we had expected an improvement in prices towards the year-end, the strength of the price rally caught us by surprise. We believe there could be a slight correction, as there could be some speculative elements at play. Nevertheless, we expect prices in 1H20 to remain high at MYR2,700-3,100/tonne, before seasonally weakening to a range of MYR2,400-2,700/tonne in 2H20.


We increase our CPO price forecasts

  • Given this scenario, we increase our CPO price forecasts up to MYR2,600/tonne for 2020 while leaving our 2021 forecasts intact at MYR2,500/tonne. This will imply a substantial 22% y-o-y increase in CPO prices from 2019’s average of MYR2,129/tonne. With this, the plantation companies’ earnings are expected to re-rate upwards significantly, particularly as the leverage of CPO price change to earnings is much more significant than that of FFB output growth.
  • For the firms under our coverage, every MYR100/tonne change in CPO prices impacts earnings by between 4% and 18% pa. We expect to start seeing the impact of strong CPO prices on earnings from the 4Q19 reporting period onwards, ie Feb 2020, which could trigger another round of share price retracement.
  • Despite the run-up in share prices, we believe there is still upside for some stocks, as our sensitivity analysis indicates that most of our stock picks are still reflecting CPO prices of c.MYR2,400-2,500/tonne.


Remain positive on the sector’s fundamentals

  • We continue to remain positive on the sector’s fundamentals and believe there are three key factors that will keep CPO prices high in 2020:
    • A CPO deficit is imminent this year, as demand growth outstrips supply growth and stock/usage ratios fall below historical averages;
    • Biodiesel – the largest demand catalyst – is still very much a “GO” in Indonesia and Malaysia;
    • Food demand should remain strong from China and India.
  • See See Bumitama Agri Share Price; Bumitama Agri Analyst Reports.


BUY call maintained

  • We maintain our call while target price rises based on an unchanged 16x FY20F P/E, or 1SD above its historical average. See Bumitama Agri Target Price.
  • Our Target Price implies an EV/ha of USD13,000 – at the low end of the peer range of USD10,000-15,000/ha. We believe earnings have turned the corner, with FFB output recovery being seen at Bumitama Agri’s estates.





Singapore Research RHB Securities Research | https://www.rhbinvest.com.sg/ 2020-01-20
SGX Stock Analyst Report BUY MAINTAIN BUY 0.95 UP 0.800



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