Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Banpu falls after weak Q1

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STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Banpu falls after weak Q1 May 11th 2012, 08:33 Fri May 11, 2012 4:33am EDT Shares in Banpu Pcl fell 2.2 percent to a seven-month low of 526 baht ($16.90) after the top coal miner reported a 70 percent fall in quarterly net profit. Banpu posted a net profit of 2.8 billion baht ($89.97 million) for January-March period, down from 9.16 billion baht a year earlier when it booked a gain from the sale of a Chinese subsidiary. Stripping out the extraordinary gain, the first quarter net profit was down 2.5 percent from a year earlier. Nineteen out of 21 analysts tracking the company have a buy or strong buy rating, one rates it as a hold and one has a sell rating. Broker Kasikorn Securities said it maintained the stock outperform, with target price of 795 baht ($25.55). CIMB Securities also kept outperform rating, with target price of 695 baht ($22.33). "Earnings from the coal business fell 4 percent year on year ... On the bright side, net income from the power business rebounded," CIMB said in a report. "As 52 percent of coal sales in Indonesia have already been locked in at $100 per tonne, earnings should remain strong despite recent coal price weakness," the broker said. Banpu expected higher sales in 2012 due to rising coal volume to 47-48 million tonnes, compared with last year's 42 million tonnes, it said in a statement. For the company statement, click (nSET17sFla) 1524 (0824 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok; viparat.jantraprapweth@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 14:28 STOCKS NEWS THAILAND: Thai Union Frozen jumps on Q1 profit Thai Union Frozen Products Pcl TUF.BK, jumped 3.5 percent to 74 baht during midday trade, having hit 74.50 baht earlier, after its reported first quarter net profit topped market forecasts. The world's largest canned tuna maker reported a 93 percent surge in quarterly profit on Thursday due to the price of tuna, which hit a record high in March. (nL4E8G85HN) Several brokers rated the shares a buy, with Kiatnakin Securities maintaining the company's target price at 85 baht on expectations of upcoming financial consolidation and lower production costs to help boost performance in the second quarter. "There is possible growth in second quarter earnings due to weaker shrimp prices helping to cut Thai Union Frozen's production costs, which is reflected by an improvement in the company's gross profit margin," Kiatnakin said. "Furthermore, Thai Union Frozen will consolidate its financials with Pakfood Pcl PPC.BK in the second quarter, which will likely help see growth in the company's earnings," the broker said. 1402 (0702 GMT) (Reporting by Sinsiri Tiwutanond in Bangkok; sinsiri.tiwutanond@thomsonreuters.com) *********************************************************** 14:04 STOCKS NEWS THAILAND: TMB Bank up after stake sell report Shares in TMB Bank Pcl TMB.BK rose in active volume after Kao Hoon newspaper quoted a market source as saying Singapore's state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pvt Ltd TEM.UL was courting shareholders including ING Groep NV ING.AS and the Ministry of Finance to buy their stakes in the mid-sized bank. The acquisition price was expected to be in a range of 2.1-2.5 baht ($0.07-$0.08) per share, the newspaper said. TMB gained as much as 6.7 percent to 1.76 baht ($0.06), the highest since April 4, with about 421 million shares traded, 4.26 times the average full-day volume over the last 30 sessions. According to bourse data, the Finance Ministry owns 26.09 percent of TMB while ING holds 25.2 percent plus 5.92 percent through non-voting depository receipts. Broker Kiatnakin Securities rated the stock a sell, with a target price of 1.56 baht. "It was a bit about speculation ... There has been no confirmation yet, either from TMB or the Ministry of Finance," the broker said in a report. Temasek and TMB Bank declined to comment, while the Ministry of Finance was not available for comment. 1356 (0656 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap and Manunphattr Dhanananphorn in Bangkok; Kevin Lim in Singapore; viparat.jantraprapaweth@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 11:24 STOCKS NEWS THAILAND: PTT Global Chemical gains despite weak oil prices Shares in PTT Global Chemical Pcl PTTGC.BK gained 1.54 percent to 65.75 baht, after hitting a high of 66 baht at one point, while brokers remained positive on its earnings outlook despite concerns over weaker oil prices. PTT Global Chemical's first quarter net profit jumped 143 percent from last quarter to 9.85 billion baht ($316.52 million), in line with market expectation. "Despite weaker oil prices prompting concerns over second quarter earnings, we still expect that the prices won't slump too severely. In the mid-term, the oil price decline will help boost the company's refinery business and aromatics," Broker Maybank Kim Eng said in a research note. "Furthermore, PTT Global Chemical operates on low production cost, giving it an advantage among its peers," the broker said. Maybank gave the shares a buy rating with target price at 78 baht. Several brokers expect the petrochemical industry to continuously improve in the last half of this year until 2013. 1118 (0418 GMT) (Reporting by Sinsiri Tiwutanond in Bangkok; sinsiri.tiwutanond@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 10:41 STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Citigroup raises Robinson target price Citigroup raised its target price for Robinson Department Store Pcl ROBI.BK to 39 baht ($1.25) from 37 baht ($1.19), reflecting strong first quarter results and an earnings upgrade for the full year. But the broker said it maintained sell rating on the stock which was trading at 56 baht ($1.80), up 1.82 percent. "The current share price has clearly priced in strong earnings growth driven by resilient sales growth momentum post flood, steady gross margin and corporate income tax cuts. Thus we maintain sell," Citigroup said in a report. The broader SET index .SETI was down 0.23 percent. Robinson reported a 47 percent increase in January-March quarter net profit to 564 million baht ($18.12 million) boosted by strong sales and lower corporate income tax. "Despite slowly recovering consumer confidence post flood from a rock bottom, Robinson has delivered impressive sales growth," the broker said in a report. The broker said it raised 2012-2014 earnings estimates by 28-30 percent. For the company statement, click (nSETllcDca) 1039 (0339 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok; viparat.jantraprapaweth@thomsonreuters.com) ($1 = 31.12 baht) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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