Friday, November 2, 2012

Unilever Indonesia (UNVR.IJ, HOLD) - A Solid Performance

Unilever posted a net profit of IDR3,653b in 9M12, up 21% YoY, inline with our expectation.  In past years, Unilever’s strong brand equity has allowed it to pass on cost increases without suffering volume loss. In 9M12, despite raising ASPs by 5.5%, sales volumes continued to increase, allowing Unilever to post revenue growth of 17%.  For next year, we expect growth to be driven more by volume rather than price, as CPO prices and the Rupiah stabilise. During the two steep fuel price increases in 2005-2006 and 2008, Unilever recorded double-digit growth in revenues and net profit, as it was able to grow sales volumes despite sharp ASP increases.  Unilever continues to launch new products aggressively.  The most recently launched brand of hair care products, TRESemmé, is also gaining strong market acceptance.  The brand is very well known in the United States and European countries. The products are aimed at the high-end market segment to compete with P&G’s Pantene range. We maintain our forecast assumptions and TP at IDR26,350, which pegs the stock at 35x FY13 PER. 

source: KIMENG dated 1 Nov 2012