2023-08-05 16:06:06
04 August 2023 Today at 11:58
Bpost exceeded expectations with its operating profit in the last quarter, but the many uncertainties are keeping analysts from raising their advice on the action.
The action of post
resumed colors on the Brussels Stock Exchange this Friday morning. After the publication of generally positive results, investors made the title of the semi-public postal company jump by almost 5% at the stroke of noon. This thus returned to its highest level since the end of April, when the group had withdrawn its annual forecasts following the discovery of new contentious files.
Its figures for the last quarter have indeed beat expectations, at least at the level of adjusted operating profit (ebit), which, at 68.7 million euros, is more than 13% above what analysts had expected. A performance due to good performance of its activities in Belgium, Europe and Asia, although in North America, a slowdown was observed. “However, cost-cutting measures have mitigated this shortfall,” notes Marc Zwartsenburg of ING.
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“The lack of visibility related to ongoing investigations should continue to weigh on sentiment.”
“Need clarity”
According to the analyst, the results of these quarterly figures are positive, but he says he has “need for clarity on the outcome of the internal audit” before being able to raise its forecast for operating profit, given that the impact of this on the results might not yet be estimated by bpost. ING’s advice on the action remains to “maintain” with a target price of 5.5 euros.
At UBS, we also advise to “maintain” the title, with a target of only 4.05 euros. “The strong operating performance for the quarter is positive, as is the clear improvement in underlying expectations across all divisionsalthough we believe this is largely factored into current consensus expectations,” the analysts said.
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The risk of the newspaper concession
4,68€
The 12-month average target for bpost’s share price stands at 4.68 euros, very close to its current level.
Analyst Frank Claassen, on the other hand, believes that bpost is well placed to win the contract once morest PPP and the French Proximy. But due to the uncertainty regarding the results of the internal audit, he decides to recommend “maintaining” the action with a target price of 4.30 euros.
According to the consensus established by Bloomberg, 6 out of 8 analysts currently advise to “hold” the title, while KBC Securities remains to be “reduced” et Societe Generale goes as far as an advice to “sell” for the bpost share. The 12-month average target for the price stands at 4.68 euros, a price very close to its current level.
Folder | Bpost
The autonomous public company has been in turmoil for several months. At issue: repeated governance problems.
➡ Our special file dedicated to bpost.
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