KUALA LUMPUR (May 10): Maybank IB Research has maintained its Buy rating on Petronas Chemicas Bhd with a target price of RM7.50 and said the company's 1Q12 results, to be released on the third week of May, was expected to be highly profitable, buoyed by high plant utilization rates of ±85% (1Q11: 83.6%) with no major maintenance shutdowns, and strong product margins.
In a note Thursday, the research house said worldwide manufacturing numbers were strong in 1Q12 which prompted heavy buying for re-stocking and inventory buildup ahead of the traditional maintenance shutdown period of March.
"BUY, with an unchanged TP of MYR7.50 on 12x 2013 PER, the industry's historical mean PER," it said.
In a note Thursday, the research house said worldwide manufacturing numbers were strong in 1Q12 which prompted heavy buying for re-stocking and inventory buildup ahead of the traditional maintenance shutdown period of March.
"BUY, with an unchanged TP of MYR7.50 on 12x 2013 PER, the industry's historical mean PER," it said.
