[ET Net News Agency, 21 November 2019] UBS Global Research raised its target price for
Want Want China Holdings (00151) to HK$5.3 from HK$5.07 and maintained its "sell" rating.
It said Want Want's mid-single-digit revenue growth but mid-to-high-single-digit price
hike of core products (85% of total sales) suggested volume decline and market share loss.
The research house thinks Want Want's future share gain, as well as its ongoing
strategies such as multi-brands and omnichannel will both require more branding
investment, while its A&P cut (3.3% of revenue versus 3.7% in 1H FY2019) suggested an
opposite direction.
UBS lifted its earnings forecast by 4% in each of the next 3 years to reflect lower A&P
assumptions. (KL)