The US labour market showed signs of a steady slowdown in October, with job openings increasing moderately and layoffs declining, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. Job openings, a key indicator of labour demand, rose by 372,000 to 7.744 million at the end of October. However, the September figures were revised downward to 7.372 million from the initially reported 7.443 million. Economists polled by Reuters had anticipated 7.475 million vacancies. Labour Market Dynamics While job openings increased, hires dropped by 269,000 to 5.313 million, and layoffs fell by 169,000 to 1.633 million. These figures suggest a gradual cooling of the labour market rather than a sharp contraction. Hurricanes and strikes also impacted October’s labour market data. Rebuilding efforts in storm-affected regions and the resolution of strikes at Boeing and another aerospace company are expected to contribute to a ...
Fairly valued
Kimlun’s JV with Zecon has clinched the first Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak package for 2016 worth MYR1.46b. This lifted its orderbook by 37% to MYR1.6b. Further job wins could come from other Klang Valley highways while precast orders could be boosted by MRT projects. We raise our 2016-18 EPS estimates by 8%-25% after imputing higher job win forecasts. Our new TP is MYR1.50 (+8%). HOLD; positive sentiment ahead of major infra work awards in the sector could lift valuations further.
Increasing orderbook by 37%
Kimlun’s 30% owned JV with Zecon (ZEC MK, Non Rated) has won a contract from Lebuhraya Borneo Utara (Non-Listed) for the Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak worth MYR1.46b. The total works are expected to complete in 48 months by 1Q20. This increased its outstanding orderbook by 37% to MYR1.6b. Assuming a pretax profit margin of 5%, we forecast a net profit contribution of MYR16m (5.5sen EPS) into 2020.
Diversifying into infrastructure jobs
This job win signifies Kimlun’s diversification into major infrastructure construction jobs that would cushion the slowdown in property construction jobs. Further job wins could come from the Klang Valley highways including DASH and SUKE while its precast division would benefit from the upcoming MRT projects in Malaysia and Singapore.
Adjusting earnings forecasts, TP
Given its high job win YTD of MYR668m, we raise our 2016 construction job win estimate to MYR1.3b (+30%) and precast order wins to MYR400m (+33%). However, we have lowered our 2017 precast margin estimate as we believe the KVMRT 2 would demand more lower-margin precast products. Subsequently, we raise 2016/17/18 EPS by +25%/+8.5%/+16% and our new TP is MYR1.50 (+8%) based on unchanged 10x 2017 PER.
Source: Maybank Research, 11 March 2016
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