Lyon: Budweiser Asia Pacific (01876) China's business slightly outperforms expectations and maintains “outperforming the market” rating

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Lyon released a research report stating that it maintains the Budweiser Asia Pacific (01876) “outperforms the market” rating, with a target price of HK$9 for the next 12 months. Budweiser Asia Pacific's second-quarter revenue increased 0.2% year over year to US$1,678 million, slightly better than Lyon's expectations, mainly driven by better trends in the western Asia Pacific region than expected. During the period, the revenue per 100 litres of the Chinese business increased by 1.2% year on year, and the year-on-year decline in sales increased to 9.7%. The normalized EBITDA was generally in line with expectations, and net profit performance far exceeded expectations, driven by strong non-operating projects and a year-on-year decline in tax rates.

The bank uses a 12-month forecast of corporate value to estimate EBITDA multiples. The East Asia Pacific business is 10 times (global average), and the western Asia Pacific business is 8.5 times (10% premium over the Chinese industry average, to reflect Budweiser's strong brand strength and comprehensive product portfolio). The bank believes it is necessary to pay attention to macroeconomic policies, the development of household consumption channels, and commercial investment.