JAKARTA. Shares of 2 consumer goods issuers, namely PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk (ICBP) and PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk (INDF) became investors' targets for today's trading. ICBP's share price shot 3.47% to Rp 8,950 per share, while INDF rose 1.75% to Rp 5,800 per share.
Foreign investors recorded a net buy of Rp 8.1 billion for ICBP shares and Rp 852.7 million for INDF shares.
Both stocks were hunted because they posted sales above expectations in the previous quarter. During the third quarter of 2018, ICBP posted sales of Rp 10.02 trillion, beating consensus collected by Refinitiv worth Rp 9.49 trillion. Meanwhile, net income was recorded at Rp 1.19 trillion, below expectations of Rp 1.41 trillion.
As reported by cnbcindonesia.com, INDF booked sales of Rp. 18.74 trillion during the third quarter of 2018, above the consensus of Rp. 18.09 trillion. The company's net profit was recorded at Rp 863.9 billion. Refinitiv did not present a consensus for INDF's quarter-III 2018 net profit.
Apart from the fact that sales that beat expectations, ICBP and INDF shares were also hunted by investors because the prospects of consumer goods stocks were indeed attractive towards the end of the year.
At the end of the year, there will be moments of Christmas and New Year that have the potential to significantly hoist Indonesian people's consumption. Just a reminder, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) noted that throughout the 2018 quarter-II, household consumption grew by 5.14% YoY, far outperforming the 2017 quarter-II achievements of 4.97% YoY. The fasting month and Eid al-Fitr became the booster of consumption for the Indonesian people at that time.
Furthermore, investors' appetite for hunting domestic stocks is indeed high in December, as seen from the JCI which is always green on a month-on-month basis for at least the last 10 years (2008-2017).
When December comes, the possibility of stocks that have strong fundamental support and large market capitalisation such as stocks of consumer goods will rise. To anticipate this, investors moved quickly by collecting ICBP and INDF shares.
In valuation, ICBP and INDF shares are also fairly cheap. Quoting RTI, the price-earnings ratio (PER) of the two shares is 22.65x and 13x respectively. Meanwhile, PER of the 3 other consumer goods stocks which also have jumbo market capitalization, namely PT Gudang Garam Tbk (GGRM), PT HM Sampoerna Tbk (HMSP), and PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk (UNVR) are 19.58x, respectively. 33,96x, and 33,91x. (AM/MS)