Our BUY rating stands, premised on a strong earnings recovery in 2H22 and through 2023. Proof of bottom-line expansion will generate much stronger market sentiment later this year (during 1H22, earnings will be dampened by costs tied to store renovation and reformatting for Lotus’s). While we expect the Makro cash & carry operation to mark fair profit expansion, the 2H22 growth driver will be Lotus’s, we believe.
Profit in line with us (but 7% below street)
MAKRO reported a 1Q22 core profit of Bt2,050m, up 18% YoY but down 19% QoQ. The core number was in line with our estimate but was 7% below the consensus.