Furui: BUD APAC (01876) first quarter EBITDA exceeds expectations, "buy" rating recommended.

Furui released a research report stating that BUD APAC (01876) had a normalized EBITDA of 463 million US dollars in the first quarter, which was 2% higher than expected, mainly due to strong performance in the Asia-Pacific region. Sales were also 3% higher than expected, driven by both the East and West markets in the Asia-Pacific region, with particularly strong performance in the Indian market. In the Chinese market, revenue decreased by 4% in the quarter, mainly due to increased investment to support wholesalers and promote brand activities in household and emerging channels. Sales volume decreased by 1.5% in the period, while normalized EBITDA decreased by 10.9% year-on-year. Management mentioned that the Chinese market has slightly improved, with the decline in sales narrowing by the quarter. The target price is now set at 9.4 Hong Kong dollars with a "buy" rating.