Driven by not-so-encouraging macroeconomic indicators combined with the short-term effects of restructuring on the company, Erste analysts have lowered the target price of Podravka’s shares from 290 to 285 kuna.
Although analysts believe that the long-term prospects of the company remain strong, they note that after the recent rise in share prices on the stock exchange, these have already been factored into the price, and they are changing their recommendation from ‘accumulate’ to ‘hold’.
Among the most important factors that influenced analysts to change their forecasts for Podravka’s results this year are adjustments in the sales structure, resulting from a slowdown in the growth rate in the food and beverage segment, employee downsizing costs, and better financial results than expected.
Therefore, Erste is lowering its sales revenue forecast for this year to 3.63 billion kuna and reducing its net profit estimate by 44 percent, from 128.2 million kuna to 71.7 million kuna.
In the following year, with the revival of the economic situation, Podravka’s sales revenue is expected to rise to 3.74 billion kuna, while net profit is estimated at 121.3 million kuna.
The last recorded price of Podravka’s shares on the Zagreb Stock Exchange was 275 kuna.
