[ET Net News Agency, 8 November 2019] Nomura raised its target price for Nissin Foods
(01475) to HK$8.2 from HK$7.5 and maintained its "buy" rating.
The research house expects Nissin to continue to benefit from the ongoing penetration
and premiumisation in the China market. Nomura said Nissin's GPM continued to expand by
2.4pp in 3Q (2.1pp in 1H), while OPM was up slower by 0.6pp (versus 2.3pp in 1H) mainly
due to higher SG&A expenses.
As a result, Nomura lowered its FY2019 OPM assumption from 11.3% to 10.6%, still
implying a 1.9pp y-y expansion, and it expects margin expansion to continue in FY2020
given the normalization of SG&A expenses and the company's continuous push for higher ASP
products.
It lowered its FY2019 earnings forecast by 3% after factoring in the higher SG&A
expenses, which is slightly offset by better top-line growth. (KL)