Equity Bottom-Up: Bank Central Asia, Advantest Corp, Classys, Moderna Inc and more

In today’s briefing:

Bank Central Asia (BBCA IJ) – The Digital Surge

Bank Central Asia (BBCA IJ) released results that were solid on a number of fronts but it was more about its preparedness for the new normal in 2022 that impressed.
The bank’s digital banking initiatives drove its transactional banking, rapid growth in new customers, as well as bringing down the cost of transactions and driving CASA growth.
Bank Central Asia (BBCA IJ) remains a core holding amongst Indonesian banks despite trading on higher PBV versus peers justified by its lead-in transactional banking and strong risk management.

New orders dropped back QoQ in 3Q, but were up 43% YoY and 1.2x greater than sales. The order backlog hit another record high.
FY Mar-22 sales and profit guidance was raised for the third time. Further growth seems likely next fiscal year.
The share price has dropped to the bottom of its recent trading range. We expect a short-term rebound while the market assesses longer-term risks.

Classys (214150 KS) insiders have transferred 61% stake to private equity company Bain Capital for KRW670 billion. The deal values the shares at KRW17,000.
Bain Capital has already invested in two beauty products companies in Korea. Both of the deals remained highly profitable for Bain. Classys is Bain’s third investment in the same space.
Classys, with its differentiated and competitive products, is expanding its geographic presence. Consumables account for 49% of total revenue, thereby creating a stable and recurring revenue source for the company.

Leading mRNA vaccine producers announced plans to build manufacturing facilities in Africa this year.
According to Reuters, Rwanda, Senegal, or South Africa may be potential locations for Moderna’s new vaccine factory.
Africa has the world’s lowest vaccination rate, and only ~5% of Africans are fully vaccinated today.

Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma