KUALA LUMPUR: Ta Ann Holdings Bhd
could be poised to beat analyst expectations following the announcement of a potential turnaround in its timbre segment, coupled with good palm oil prospects.
The group recently announced its optimism over a turnaround of its timbre segment, mainly owing to the shortage of raw materials and an incrase in housing demands in Australia, the US and other consuming countries.
“While no details were provided, it seems to suggest that the log and plywood prices have further improved from 1Q21 log and plywood ASPs of USD232/m3 and USD500/m3 respectively where its timber division reported a PBT of MYR4m in 1Q21,” said Maybank Investment Bank Research in a note.
At present, the research house forecasts the timber division to breakeven in FY21 as compared to its previous estimated core pre-tax loss of RM35mil in FY20.
Maybank IB kept its earnings forecasts pending the upcoming results release, and reiterated its “buy” call with unchanged target price of RM3.45 based on 15x FY22 price-earnings ratio.
It also said Ta Ann has a strong chance of beating its full-year FY21 dividend per share forecast of 13.8 sen given the improving profit prospects, low gearing and no immediate M&A plan.
