First Pacific 0142

[winston]

*FIRST PACIFIC (00142) rated Overweight with target cut from $10.8 to $10.3 by JPM

Mar 21, 2012

[winston]

not vested

FIRST PACIFIC (00142.HK)'s associate PLDT Jan-Sep NP drops 6.2% YoY to 28.7B pesos

FIRST PACIFIC (00142.HK) reported the unaudited consolidated financial results of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, a major operating associate of the Company, for the nine months ended 30 September 2012.

PLDT's revenue rose 12.4% year-on-year to 126.2 billion pesos and net profit declined 6.2% to 28.7 billion pesos.


Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

FIRST PACIFIC (00142.HK)'s subsidiary MPIC sees NP for Jan - Sep jump 45% to 5B pesos

MPIC, a Philippines-listed 59% owned subsidiary of FIRST PACIFIC (00142.HK), announced that its operating revenue for the first nine months of 2012 jumped 27.9% year-on-year to 20.54 billion pesos with net profit up 45.1% to 4.99 billion pesos.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

Not vested

To place a safe bet, I still prefer First Pacific (0142), which is benefiting from a resurgent Philippine economy.

Remittances from overseas workers in the first six months of the year was US$10.1 billion (HK$78.8 billion), an increase of 5.1 percent on year. The figure for 2012 will likely top US$21 billion - yet another all-time high!

Remittances are key to boosting domestic consumption. This makes the telecom and food businesses of First Pacific - mostly based in the Philippines - relatively stable.

The stock is trading at 6.8 times historical earnings offering a 2.5 percent dividend yield.

Its 52-week high stands at HK$9.52 and it now trades at HK$8.26. I think it is a solid candidate for range-trading between HK$8 and HK$9.

Source: Dr Check, The Standard HK

[winston]

Buy First Pacific shares on weakness

I still like First Pacific (0142) which I previously recommended.

I believe the Philippine economy will continue to prosper, thanks to large liquidity inflows stemming from the remittances sent back by around nine million Filipinos working abroad.

You should accumulate this stock on weakness.


Source: Dr Check, The Standard HK

[winston]

not vested

For a bargain, keep an eye on First Pacific (0142). It trades at 13 times its historical earnings.

Its subsidiary Indofood recently acquired a bottled water company in Indonesia.

First Pacific is starting to find new growth areas as its income from Philippine Long Distance Telephone is stagnant.

Source: Dr Check, The Standard HK

[investar]

I like this holding

Recent results look good and management is solid

http://www.firstpacific.com/eng/press/p ... 014/11/63/

[winston]

not vested

FIRST PACIFIC (00142.HK) 1H net profit jumps 30.55%

FIRST PACIFIC (00142.HK) -0.020 (-0.219%) Short selling $2.31M; Ratio 13.804% reported interim fiscal results.

Turnover increased 15.63% yearly to $28.174 billion.

Recurring profit rose 0.5% yearly to $1.452 billion.

Net profit jumped 30.55% to $1.453 billion. EPS was HK33.9 cents, and dividend stayed at HK8 cents.


Source: AAStocks Financial News

[investar]

OUTLOOK

The prospect of continuing strong operations at PLDT, Indofood and MPIC bode well for First Pacific’s continuing businesses going forward.

Management are preparing for completion of the Goodman Fielder transaction and the resulting opportunity to put our business development plans into action. Concern remains over the state of the Indonesian economy, particularly inflation and weakness in the rupiah, even as inflation begins to pick up in the Philippines.

There is increasing attention paid to the sanctity of contract law in the Philippines, where risks related to regulation and contractual arrangements with the Government which may hold back badly needed infrastructure investments. The defensive nature of First Pacific’s portfolio offers a high degree of earnings strength and continuity.

PLDT forecasts 2014 core profit of ₱39.5 billion, up from ₱38.7 billion a year earlier as it builds on demand growth for broadband, data, and internet services.

Indofood continues to grow steadily despite increasing competition and volatile input prices. It expects to deliver profit growth in 2014 — its 10th connective year — on account of steady growth in disposable incomes in its market of nearly 250 million people. Indofood continues to expand its production capacities and range of product offerings.

MPIC forecasts a rise in 2014 core profit to ₱8.0 billion, up from ₱7.2 billion in 2013 as economic growth and improving living standards contribute to revenue and earnings growth — even as contractual tariff increases remain stalled, in certain cases.

Despite this, MPIC aims to expand its portfolio by seeking new investments, and continuing to participate albeit selectively in certain Government projects under the Philippines’ public-private partnership program.

Development of Philex’s Silangan Project is proceeding, with the goal of production within this decade. First Pacific Chief Executive Pangilinan concluded: “The first-half growth in contribution from First Pacific’s operating companies was faster than the increase we saw in 2013. Our bigger investments like PLDT, Indofood and MPIC expect a strong 2014.

Stepping back to view the broader picture, we have seen inflation creep in through higher fuel and labor costs, particularly in Indonesia but more recently in the Philippines as well. Economic regulators are acting to contain these pressures and we are cautiously optimistic that economic growth in these markets will continue to be strong.

While concern remains over the risk of contagion from weakening demand in China and Europe, we derive a measure of comfort that growth in First Pacific’s markets is largely underpinned by domestic demand.

We are hopeful that prudent management of our assets will enable our shareholders to benefit from the economic growth in the years ahead. Our commitment to returning value to our shareholders remains steadfast. We will continue to push for capital returns to our shareholders with our capital management program.”

[investar]

This is one of the few HK stocks that are close to the 52 wk lows...

Indofood, MPIC, PLDT results were not that bad. But unpredictable regulatory environment in Philippines has been a strong headwind.