- Guinness Anchor’s (GAB) fundamentals are expected to remain intact despite the bills of demand from Royal Malaysia Customs for payment of additional excise duties and sales tax totalling RM56.3 million, according to Kenanga Research.
- Kenanga Research said it was surprised by the tax claims, which were issued nearly two years after the affected period. It will likely to be a long-drawn case, similar to that of Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia, which is still unresolved after one year.
- However, to quantify the financial impact, MaybankIB Research said that the tax demands could potentially impact 2016 earnings negatively by up to 26 percent, if enforced, though it is of the view that GAB is likely to not make any provisions against this sum.
Significance: For now though, Kenanga said it continues to like GAB for its market-leading position in the local malt liquor market and has maintained its ‘Outperform’ call on the stock with a target price of RM15.36. On the other hand, MaybankIB has maintained its earnings forecast and its ‘Hold’ call with a target price of RM14.
Contributed by Shares Investment