KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25): CGS-CIMB Research has maintained its “Add” rating on Uchi Technologies Bhd at RM2.80 with a higher target price (TP) of RM3.30 (from RM3.06) and said Uchi’s 9M19 core net profit beat expectations at 77% of house FY19F and 76% of Bloomberg consensus due to better-than-expected earnings in 3Q19.

In a note Nov 22, the research house said Uchi’s 3Q19 net profit surged 33% year-on-year (y-o-y), driven by robust demand from its Art-of-Living (AL) and biotech segments, while 9M19 net profit also rose by 16% y-o-y.

“We raise our FY19-21F net profit forecasts by 4-6% to reflect the higher sales projection driven by resilient demand from AL and biotech segments,” it said.

“We maintain our Add rating with a higher RM3.30 TP, based on 17x FY21F P/E as we roll over our valuation to end-2020,”it said.