Profit Jam: ComfortDelGro’s profit growth estimates for 2011 fall by 2%

Phillip Capital says there could be improved profitability from the company’s bus business due to lower oil prices.

Here’s more from Phillip Capital:

A defensive stock for uncertain times
Being a land transport operator, we opine that ComfortDelGro has valuable defensive characteristics against a backdrop of uncertain economic environment. Currently, we see relatively little downside risk to our profit growth estimates of 2% for FY11. In fact, the company’s bus business could even see improved profitability resulting from lower oil prices in a global economic slowdown. Majority of the company’s business are non-discretionary and are fairly resilient against a weakening economy.

Undervalued against closest peer
While SMRT and CDG are not directly comparable due to their varied business exposure, their valuation remains the benchmark to the land transport sector on the SGX. CDG currently trades at a discount to its closest peer, SMRT, when compared using the P/E and P/B multiples. Even with our conservative payout ratio assumption of 55% for CDG, the stock offers a fairly similar dividend yield of 4.5% with SMRT.

Trading at only 12X T12M EPS
CDG’s share price continues to drift lower in line with the weak market sentiments. We view current market valuations of merely 12X T12M EPS as overly pessimistic, considering the historical +/- 1S.D. P/E range of 13.5 to 16.6X. Even during the GFC, CDG traded below current valuations for less than a fortnight in Oct-Nov 2008.

Valuation. We used a blended valuation model of DCF (COE: 8.2%, terminal g: 1%) and P/E (17X FY11e PATMI) to arrive at our target price of S$2.01. CDG could potentially return 52.1% after incorporating our forecasted dividends of 6.1¢ over the next 12months. Hence, we maintain our Buy call on CDG.

If you've been wondering whether SBR could work for your company — yes, probably.

A lot of the companies we partner with started as readers. They'd been following our coverage for a while, saw their own customers and competitors in it, and eventually asked the obvious question: could we do something with you? The answer is usually yes. The shape of it depends on what you're trying to do.

The options are broader than most people assume — thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. Some partners use one channel; most use a mix. We figure out the right combination by starting with your brief, not with our rate card.

So if the question has been on your mind, here's the easy way to ask it.

We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia