In the 3QFY2023, Japfa’s gross margins also improved by 4.7 percentage points y-o-y and 4.2 percentage points q-o-q to 16.8%. The margin expansion was attributed to the better average selling prices (ASPs) as well as lower raw material prices of feed ingredients such as soybean meal and corn, says Japfa’s management at its analyst briefing on Nov 1.
CGS-CIMB Research analyst Tay Wee Kuang has upgraded his call on Japfa (SGX:UD2
) to “add” from “reduce” with a higher target price of 28 cents from 20 cents previously.
Tay’s report on Nov 2 comes after Japfa reported a core net profit of US$32.4 million ($44.2 million) for the 3QFY2023 ended Sept 30. The return to profitability stood ahead of Tay’s previous forecasts of a net profit of US$34.8 million in the 2HFY2023.
