KUALA LUMPUR: Alliance Research has maintained its ‘neutral’ call on Maxis Bhd (Maxis), with a target price of RM6.70 per share, following its RM475 million first quarter financial year 2013 (1QFY13) core net profit that came in within expectations.
The research house said Maxis’ first quarter financial year core net profit accounted for about 22 per cent of its consensus full-year estimates.
It said the 4.4 per cent year on year first quarter financial year revenue growth was mainly contributed by higher data revenue and outright device sales, which offset the slight reduction in voice and short message services (SMSes).
“After recording a decent first quarter financial year 2013 results, Maxis reiterates its revenue growth guidance of mid-single digit in 2013, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin sustaining at 48 per cent to 48.5 per cent,” said Alliance Research in a research note yesterday.
It said Maxis would continue to monitor and maintain cost discipline, particularly in sales and marketing expenses, general administration costs, as well as equipment-related expenses.
In a separate note, HwangDBS Vickers Research said key growth drivers for Maxis were on its first mover advantage on 4G long-term evolution on the 1800Mhz band, data revenue growth through increasing smartphone penetration and greater take-up of high speed broadband (HSBB) home subscriptions post-Astro internet protocol television (IPTV) rollout.
“However, Maxis has yet to react to Digi’s recent plan revisions, which we think appeals more value-centric customers who prefer lower price bundles to higher speeds, and will likely result in lower subscription growth traction for Maxis,” it added.
HwangDBS Vickers Research has maintained ‘fully valued’ on Maxis, with the target price of RM6.97 per share. — Bernama