KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Kenanga Research has maintained its “outperform” rating on Inari Amertron Bhd at RM2.56 with a lower target price (TP) of RM3.30 (from RM4.60) and said Inari reported 3QFY22 core net profit (CNP) of RM89 million (-17.6% q-o-q; +20% y-o-y), bringing 9MFY22 CNP to RM302.6 million (+26.7% y-o-y) which came in within expectations, representing 76% each of both house/street’s forecast. In a note on Tuesday (May 17), the research house said 3QFY22 revenue inched 5% higher y-o-y as the leading US smartphone brand managed to eke out a 2.2% y-o-y shipment growth while global shipment as a whole declined for the second consecutive quarter. Kenanga said the growth in the smartphone market will likely remain tepid which is evident by the back-to-back decline in global smartphone shipment in 4QCY21 (-1.8% y-o-y) and 1QCY22 (-8.9% y-o-y). “While we are confident of the management’s execution in diversifying into other industries over a longer term, we believe its large exposure to the smartphone segment in the immediate term may not bode well with investor’s appetite. “Maintain 'outperform' with a lower TP of RM3.30,” it said.
