This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on January 29, 2019
British American Tobacco (M) Bhd (+ve)
TRADING of shares in British American Tobacco (M) Bhd (BAT) (fundamental: 1.35/3, valuation: 1.5/3) triggered our momentum algorithm yesterday for the first time this year.
The stock closed up 16 sen or 0.42% at RM38.56 yesterday, with 1.46 million shares done, compared with the counter’s 200-day average of 339,459 shares.
For the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2018, net profit was flat at RM145.81 million versus RM145.49 million a year earlier. Earnings per share remained the same at 51.1 sen.
Revenue also budged a little at RM735.53 million versus RM734.61 million a year ago, which the group attributed to a volume decline as a result of a slowing legal market.
For the cumulative nine months, net profit fell 14% to RM352.17 million from RM411.6 million previously, while revenue dropped 8% to RM2.05 billion from RM2.23 billion.
BAT is currently trading at 26.23 times its net book value.