And we all can see that Food Empire (67 cents) is trading at just 14X PE historical. Food Empire lacks coverage by the brokers -- which is the real reason the stock valuation is still cheap. Tis is a buying opportunity for value investors. Food Empire will re-rate sooner or later with a 80% upside potential.
Food Empire reported 4Q12 net profit of USD21m (+37% y-o-y), exceeding our estimate of USD18m. This is attributed to higher than expected gross margins which expanded by 3ppt y-o-y to 46.8%. A dividend of 1.2SGD¢ was declared, translating into a yield of 1.8%.
We raise our 2013-14 earnings by 18% in light of stronger growth momentum in Russia as well as higher gross margins. We rollover our valuations to derive a higher TP of SGD0.84, pegged to 15x 2014 EPS. Maintain BUY.