KUALA LUMPUR: The outlook for MyNews Holdings Bhd appears promising, according to RHB Research.
The change in strategy to consolidate the management teams of MyNews and CU stores has led to promising sales and margin improvement, the firm added.
"Moving ahead, the robust expansion of the MyNews brand, coupled with the reduction of losses at CU and anticipated breakeven of the food processing centre (FPC) are poised to sustain the group's turnaround," it said in a note.
RHB Research added that MyNews had achieved RM24 million-RM29 million profit pre-pandemic, but the introduction of CU in 2021 resulted in continuous losses throughout its gestation period.
Over the three years, the convenience store operator had learned from its mistakes and adapted a new strategy.
It consolidated the management teams of CU and MyNews to leverage the latter's local expertise in running an international brand.
"This resulted in GPM improvement given the more synergistic benefits and cost savings due larger combined scale, while also contributing to stronger sales through better product assortment.
"We highlight CU's closest peer, FamilyMart, took three years to breakeven.
"With the financial year 2024 (FY24) marking the third year since CU's introduction, excluding the pandemic year, it is poised to break even," it noted.
RHB Research expects profit to return to pre-pandemic levels in FY25 for MyNews, with CU breaking even by the end of 2024.
The firm kept a "Buy" call on the company with a target price of 68 sen.
RHB Research said MyNews has been continuously gaining market share, with sales growing despite the overall decline in the convenience store sector, as cited by Nielsen.
This is attributed to its continuous fine tuning of product offerings and the introduction of more quality fresh food items after securing sufficient labour for FPC, which has led to better consumer traction.
"Management guided to aggressively expand this profitable brand to further offset narrowing losses from other business units given its track record of resilient performance.
"We believe this will be further aided by a new shareholder providing valuable insight and suggestions to the business.
"Mynews also plans to introduce new Maru Coffee Café, leveraging on the popularity of its coffee and fresh food products," it noted.
RHB Research also highlighted that FPC's losses narrowed to RM0.2 million in the first quarter (1Q) of FY24, smallest losses since its establishment in 2019.
This was due to stabilised input costs, and management being able to negotiate better terms with suppliers due to stronger sales volume.
"We anticipate FPC utilisation will continue to ramp up in line with store expansion and higher in-store sales.
"On the other hand, WH Smith's earnings are currently at approximately 70 per cent of pre-pandemic level as it was impacted by some airport renovation, but we expect it to recover post renovation and increasing tourist arrivals," it noted.
Moving forward, the firm said key risks for MyNews include delays in CU's turnaround and weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment.