KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 ― Research firms have maintained their ‘buy’ call on Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) with the recovery in passenger traffic moving on the right trajectory since the country entered the transition to endemic phase.
MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd said however, the international passengers mix, which generates higher yield, is still well below its pre-pandemic level.
“We expect this to recover more meaningfully in the second half of the financial year 2022 (2HFY22) as more countries, which are part of KUL’s key segments, uplift their travel restrictions,” the firm said in a note.
On a brighter note, MIDF Research said the management expects the new operating agreement (OA) to be tabled to the Cabinet soon following a positive discussion with the Transport Minister and Malaysian Aviation Commission executive chairman last Friday.
“All in all, we maintain our ‘neutral’ call on MAHB with an unchanged target price of RM6.70,” it added.
AmInvestment Bank Bhd said following the easing of entry restrictions in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, it expects passenger traffic to pick up, particularly for international leisure visitors, due to the lower cost of travel, lifting of quarantine rules, and easing of Covid-19 test requirements.
“We are projecting MAHB’s Malaysia passenger traffic to rebound by five times year-on-year in FY22 and seven times in FY23 from a low base. This translates to 60 per cent of Malaysia’s pre-pandemic passenger traffic in FY22 and 83 per cent in FY23,” the firm said.
For Turkey operations, AmInvestment has lowered its Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ISG) passenger traffic forecast for FY22 by 7.0 per cent due to slower growth in passenger volume in the first four months of FY22, partially mitigated by the potential increase in international passengers after the opening of a new metro station at ISG by July 2022.
“This translates to 93 per cent of ISG’s pre-pandemic passenger traffic,” it added.
The firm maintains its 'hold' recommendation with an unchanged fair value of RM6.99 per share.
At 10.51am, MAHB’s shares fell 16 sen to RM6.35 with 1.20 million unit transacted. ― Bernama
