Friday 18 January 2013

UMW Holdings - Still a Buy!


UMW’s shares have gained  85.6%  y-o-y,  but  we  still  like  the  auto  conglomerate, which  stands  to benefit  from  the  strengthening MYR  vs  both  the  USD  and JPY.  As such,  we  raise  our  earnings  forecasts  by  5%/9%/9%  respectively  for FY12/FY13/FY14.  We  expect  UMW  to  report  strong  December  vehicle  sales,  which have  hit  a  record  high  since  2007.  Following  the  earnings  upgrades,  we  raise  our SOP-derived  FV  to  RM14.43  (from  RM13.36),  for  an  implied  12x  PE,  which  is  still below its 5-year historical average of 13x. UMW also offers  a decent dividend  yield of 4.5%.  

December  sales  to  hit  record.  We  gather  that  UMW  expects  to  report  strong  vehicle sales for December that may breach an estimated 11k units (y-o-y: +108%, m-o-m: +20%). The  anticipated  new  monthly  record  –  the  highest  since  Dec  2007  -  was  driven  by  its aggressive promotions in conjunction with its 30-year anniversary celebrations. Total FY12 Toyota vehicle sales is expected to hit 108k units (y-o-y: +22%), trouncing our forecast for 101k  units.  This  will  significantly  boost  UMW’s  4Q  earnings,  which  may  also  beat consensus expectations. Perodua is also expected to report strong sales of 18.7k units for December, bringing its FY12 total vehicle sales to 189k units, in line with our projection for 190k units.  

Vehicle projections. We are forecasting UMW and Perodua vehicle sales will grow by 8% and 9% respectively in 2013. UMW’s vehicle sales growth will be fuelled by the upcoming launches  of  the  third-generation  of  Vios  and  the  all-new  Altis,  scheduled  sometime  in  2H this year.

Strengthening  Ringgit  buoys  earnings.  Based on yesterday’s exchange rates, the JPY and  USD  have  weakened  by  17%  and  4%  y-o-y  against  the  Ringgit.  This  will  boost Perodua  and  UMW’s margins  respectively.  The  favourable  currency  movement,  coupled with  the  group’s focus  on  cost,  as  well  as  the  economies  of  scale  to  be  achieved  from  a higher  localization  rate,  we  are  now  raising  our  earnings  by  5%/9%/9%  respectively  for FY12/ FY13/ FY14.  

Maintain BUY at a higher FV. Following the earnings upgrade, we are raising our sum-of-parts based FV to RM14.43, for an implied PE of 12x, which is still below the stock’s 5-year historical average of 13x. UMW also offers a decent dividend yield of 4.5%.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
December  sales  to  be  high.  We  gather  that  UMW  is  expected  to  report  strong  vehicle
sales  for  December  –  breaching  11k  units  (y-o-y:  +108%,  m-o-m:  +20%),  a  new  monthly
record  high since  Dec  2007, driven  by its  aggressive promotional activities in conjunction
with its 30-year anniversary celebrations. December is a traditionally weaker month due to
the  deferment  in  purchases  to  the  New  Year  to  attain  a  higher  vehicle  resale  value.
Discounts  offered  will  not  be  too  aggressive  to  ensure  that  margins  are  not  too
compromised.  More  importantly,  economies  of  scale  will  be  achieved  through  the  high
volume of vehicles manufactured. Total expected vehicle sales of 108k units in FY12 (y-o-y:  +22%)  from  Toyota  trounce  our  forecast  of  101k  units,  hence  likely  to  bring  another stellar set of earnings in 4Q for UMW, beating consensus expectations. Likewise, Perodua
is  also  expected  to  report  strong  December  sales  numbers,  estimated  to  hit  18.7k  units, bringing its total FY12 vehicle sales to 189k units, which is in line with our expectations of
190k units. 
Vehicle projections. We forecast UMW and Perodua vehicle sales to grow by 8% and 9% respectively for 2013. UMW’s vehicle growth will be  driven  by  the  upcoming  launches  of the third generation of Vios and the all new Altis scheduled sometime in 2H this year. The new  Vios  is  expected  to  debut  in  the  Bangkok  Motor  Show  in  March.  Facelifts  and  new variants  will  continue  to  be  introduced  by  Toyota  for  its  other  vehicle  line-ups  to  sustain sales growth momentum. Perodua’s sales will be sustained by higher demand take-up on the back of higher employment activities as more graduates  enter the workforce and as a second car (notably its MPV, the Alza).

Strengthening  MYR  good  for  earnings.  The  JPY  and  the  USD  continues  to  weaken against the MYR – down by 17% and 4% y-o-y, boosting the margins of Perodua and UMW respectively.  We  estimate  that  every  1  sen  movement  in  the  MYR  against  the  USD  will impact  UMW Toyota’s earnings by RM3.9m in PATAMI and RM9.3n in EBITDA. We maintain  our  USD/MYR  forecast  at  RM3.05,  in  line with our economist’s view. Despite maintaining  this  forex  forecast,  we  are  nudging  up  our  EBITDA  margin  assumptions  for UMW  Toyota  to  16.5%  from  16%.  UMW  Toyota  achieved  an  EBITDA  margin  of  15%  last year and based on its 9M12 numbers, we expect its FY13 EBITDA margin to be higher at 16% despite the average weakening of the MYR against the USD y-o-y by 1.1%. 
Perodua  to  benefit  most  from  dwindling  JPY.  More  importantly,  we  see  Perodua benefiting the most from the sharp depreciation in the JPY given its high sensitivity to the currency  as  JPY-based  import  costs  account  for  20%  of  its  total  costs.  We  estimate  that every  +1/-1sen  change  in  MYR  against  the  JPY,  it  would  decrease/increase  Perodua’s earnings  by  RM2m.  Should  the  JPY  stay  at  this  level,  associate  income  from  Perodua would surge by 22-23% from our previous estimates. To be conservative, we only raise our
earnings for Perodua by 11% for FY13 and FY14, representing earnings growth of 15% and 20% respectively.
Nudging up overall earnings. Factoring in the favourable currency movements and higher margin  assumptions  that  will  be  achieved  from  its  cost  control  efforts  and  economies  of scale  through  higher localization  efforts,  we  now  expect  higher  earnings  for  UMW moving forward.  As  such,  our  earnings  for  FY12/  FY13/  FY14  are  upgraded  by  5%  /  9%  /  9% respectively.  UMW  has  consistently  met  our  earnings  expectations  and  we  expect  it  to continue  to  do  so,  despite  our  immediate  term  forecasts  being  significantly  higher  than consensus by 20%.

Maintain BUY at a higher FV.  Following the earnings upgrade, we raise our SOP derived FV  to  RM14.43,  giving  it  an  implied  PE  multiple  of  12x,  which  is  still  below  its  5-year historical average of 13x. UMW also offers a decent dividend yield of 4.5%. 


Source: OSK

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