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BEC World
Tisco Securities has maintained its "buy" recommendation on BEC World's stock with a 12-month target price of Bt23.80 per share.
The broker remains bullish on the outlook for BEC's earnings owing to the rising popularity of its TV programmes and the prospect of a further rise in its market share. Moreover, the possibility of a hike in its prime-time advertising rates and uncertainly about the future of rival TITV, formerly iTV, provide potential upside to its earnings forecasts.Gross ad spending on BEC rose by 9 per cent year on year in February, boosting its market share to 25.1 per cent from 23.6 per cent a year ago. This was much faster than the overall rise in TV ad spending of 2.3 per cent. The popularity of the company's TV programmes and its rate hike last month were the main factors behind this positive momentum. We expect the momentum to be sustained during the upcoming high season for ad spending. The broker said that BEC's net profit forecasts for this year and next remain unchanged at Bt2.04 billion and Bt2.29 billion, respectively, and it has targeted a three-year compounded annual growth rate for earnings of 15 per cent. Potential sources of upside include a hike in the company's prime-time ad rate and a sharper than expected rise in gross ad spending on BEC, as more advertisers shift their spending away from TITV. The company recently increased the amount of airtime for its prime-time drama programmes to meet strong demand from advertisers. Once this additional airtime is filled, the company is likely to increase its prime-time ad rates.
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