January 11, 2011

PROTON - A solid ride ahead for the automotive sector

Stock Name: PROTON
Company Name: PROTON HOLDINGS BHD
Research House: HWANGDBS

Automotive Sector
We are positive on the sector as TIV (total industry volume) growth is expected to hit a new record this year as well. We project TIV to register 622,210-unit sales (+5.4% year-on-year versus 2010's estimated 9.8% growth).

This would be supported by four factors, namely more than 20 new model launches, strong consumer sentiment to underpin consumption of big tickets items, competitive financing rates despite expectation of 50 basis point'' interest rate hike in 1H11 and a resilient secondary car market.

We expect more foreign collaborations and investments to come this year following the revised NAP (National Automotive Policy) to allow 100% foreign ownership in the luxury car segment ( more than 1,800cc and priced more than RM150,000). For example, DRB-Volkwagen and Tan Chong-Nissan have facilities for local assembly in place.

Increased local assembly of CKD (completely-knocked-down) vehicles could potentially increase local content and hence local manufacturers' competitiveness against global players. We think prices of CKD vehicles could be reduced as a result of lower import duty on CKD vehicles and no duty for local component applications.

However, the quantum of the decrease is likely to be smaller as manufacturers are keen to maintain the branding and image of the vehicle and utilise the additional margin to pay more incentives to dealers to boost sales. This should benefit names like APM Automotive (fully valued; target price RM4.60), DRB-Hicom (buy; TP RM3.55), Hirotako (not rated), and Delloyd Ventures (not rated).

Our top pick is UMW (buy; TP RM8.90) for laggard play and potential re-rating from unlocking of value for its oil and gas division. It is also a beneficiary of ringgit appreciation vs US dollar given its net US dollar cost exposure.

We also like MBM Resources (buy; TP RM4.15) for its attractive valuation and potential expansion of its commercial segment. We downgraded Proton to hold (from buy) with RM4.70 TP given flattish earnings outlook arising from the heavy capex plan for Group Lotus and thinner margins on higher import cost. ' HwangDBS Vickers Research, Jan 10


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 11, 2011.


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