JP Morgan: Maintains "neutral" rating on BUD APAC (01876) with target price lowered to 9.2 Hong Kong dollars.

J.P. Morgan released a research report stating that they expect BUD APAC (01876) to experience a year-on-year sales and EBITDA growth of 4.9% and 3.9% respectively. The company's stock price has increased by 25% since the beginning of the year, with the forecasted P/E ratio rising from 13.5 times to 19 times, believed to already reflect the recovery expectations in the Chinese market. The bank maintains a "neutral" rating on the company, with a target price slightly reduced from HK$9.5 to HK$9.2. Excluding exchange rate factors, it is expected that BUD APAC's sales and EBITDA for the first quarter of this year will decrease by 9.4% and 14.7% respectively compared to last year, a greater decline than the 11% and 7.2% in the fourth quarter of last year, mainly due to a high base, sluggish recovery in the Chinese market leading to continued destocking, and strong sales performance in South Korea.