Bermaz Auto continues to see robust demand

KUALA LUMPUR: Bermaz Auto Bhd has raised its sales guidance for FY24 following a forecast-beating performance in its first quarter.

Underpinned by robust sales of its Mazda, Peugeot and Kia vehicles, the auto distributor posted a quarterly core net profit of RM100.2mil, which was double the net profit posted in the previous corresponding quarter.

Kenanga Research, in its results note, said the result exceeded expectations at 37% of its full-year forecast and 38% of consensus' full-year estimate.

"The key variance against our forecast came from a higher-than-expected sales volume especially for the refreshed CX-30 CKD model and backlog orders delivery of Mazda 3 CBU," it said.

Kenanga noted that the group's order backlogs stand at 5,000 units for Mazda and a few hundred units each for Kia and Peugeot.

The research firm increased its FY24-25F net profit by 4% each as it raised its sales volume assumptions by 4% each to 24,000 units in FY24 and to 24,400 in FY25, partially offset by higher cost of sales on the assumption the ringgit will weaken against the Japanese yen.

"Consequently, we lift our TP by 4% to RM3.22 (from RM3.10) based on an unchanged CY24F PER of 13x, at a premium to the auto sector’s average forward PER of 11x given its niche in the premium mid-market segment and ability to consistently pay out good dividends," said Kenanga.