KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 16): TA Securities has maintained its “buy” rating on Heineken Malaysia Bhd at RM25.82 with a higher target price of RM31.90 (from RM31.40) based on unchanged discounted cash flow variables.

In a note on Wednesday (Aug 16), the research house toned down Heineken’s earnings forecasts by 5.9% for the financial year 2023 (FY2023), by 2.3% for FY2024 and by 0.2% for FY2025, to reflect the continuous market correction.

TA Securities said Heineken remains cautious about the near-term outlook due to challenging macroeconomic factors that would dampen consumer sentiment.

“Going forward, the company will focus on improving its operating efficiency to maximise its profitability.

“That said, we anticipate an improvement in the economic conditions during 2HFY2023 (second half of FY2023) following the resolution of political uncertainties post the 2023 state election.

“There is an expectation that the administration will implement additional stimulus schemes to bolster the country's economy to a greater extent and place it on a more robust trajectory,” it said.