THE comparison of quarterly results for Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd is “meaningless,” according to TA Securities, owing to the suspension of 4D and lotto games over the movement control order (MCO).

As it stands, BToto saw a core profit of RM136.2 mil for its 2020 financial year, which ended June 30 2020. This, according to TA analyst Tan Kam Meng, had missed analyst forecasts.

“The variance was largely due to the cancellation of draws during the MCO with 40 draws cancelled, which was more than our expectations of 37 draws,” said Tan.

The analyst noted that, after adjusting for the timing difference after the change of financial year, BToto’s revenue had declined 18.3% year-on-year (yoy) to RM4.7 bil, with the drop due to the suspension of 39 normal draws and one special draw during the MCO.

However, further adding to the decline was that the motor franchising division, H.R. Owen, had shut down its operations from March 23 to May 31, in accordance with the UK’s lockdown order.

Individually, the number forecast operator (NFO) segment saw a 23.8% drop in revenue yoy, while the motor franchising division saw a 12.5% drop in revenue yoy.

With regards to BToto’s balance sheet, Tan noted that net gearing had expanded to 1.2x as of June 2020, with total cash dwindling to RM307 mil. This is compared to a gearing of 1x and a total cash of RM422 mil in June 2019.

“However, we are not overly concerned as the company has resumed operations on June 17,” said Tan.

Moving forward, the analyst noted that BToto’s lotto game Supreme Toto 6/58 jackpot has ballooned to over RM20 mil, and Tan believes this would encourage more punters to continue trying their luck, especially during this difficult period.

At the same time, Tan also believes that it is not likely for the NFO sector to see any negative budgetary policies in Budget 2021.

“Like other NFO players, BToto has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, we do not think there would be any negative budgetary policies in Budget 2021, which would derail earnings recovery for the NFO sector,” said Tan.

TA Securities maintains a buy call on BToto, noting that the stock has defensive earnings quality and a compelling dividend yield. However, the research house also revised its target price for BToto to RM2.40 from a previous RM2.67, citing the reductions in earnings and dividends per share.

At the end of the morning’s trading, BToto’s shares were last done at RM2.12, up 3 sen, with 393,000 shares traded. – Aug 19, 2020

PERBANDINGAN keputusan suku tahunan untuk Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd "tidak bermakna", menurut TA Securities, kerana penggantungan permainan 4D dan lotto atas perintah kawalan pergerakan (MCO).

Sejauh ini, BToto melihat keuntungan teras sebanyak RM136.2 juta untuk tahun kewangan 2020, yang berakhir pada 30 Jun 2020. Ini, menurut penganalisis TA, Tan Kam Meng, telah melewatkan ramalan penganalisis.

"Perbezaan ini disebabkan oleh pembatalan undian semasa MCO dengan 40 undian dibatalkan, yang lebih daripada jangkaan kami terhadap 37 seri," kata Tan.

Penganalisis menyatakan bahawa, setelah menyesuaikan dengan perbezaan waktu setelah perubahan tahun kewangan, pendapatan BToto telah menurun 18.3% tahun ke tahun (yoy) kepada RM4.7 bilion, dengan penurunan kerana penangguhan 39 penarikan biasa dan satu cabutan khas semasa MCO.

Namun, yang semakin menambah penurunan adalah bahawa bahagian francais motor, H.R. Owen, telah menghentikan operasinya dari 23 Mac hingga 31 Mei, sesuai dengan perintah penguncian Inggeris.

Secara individu, segmen pengendali ramalan (NFO) menyaksikan penurunan pendapatan sebanyak 23.8%, sementara bahagian francais motor menyaksikan penurunan pendapatan sebanyak 12.5%.

Berkenaan dengan neraca BToto, Tan menyatakan bahawa gear bersih telah meningkat kepada 1.2x pada bulan Jun 2020, dengan jumlah tunai berkurang menjadi RM307 juta. Ini dibandingkan dengan gear 1x dan jumlah wang tunai RM422 juta pada bulan Jun 2019.

"Namun, kami tidak terlalu prihatin kerana syarikat itu telah beroperasi semula pada 17 Jun," kata Tan.

Melangkah ke hadapan, penganalisis menyatakan bahawa permainan lotto BToto Supreme Toto 6/58 telah meningkat menjadi lebih dari RM20 juta, dan Tan percaya ini akan mendorong lebih banyak penonton untuk terus mencuba nasib, terutama dalam tempoh sukar ini.

Pada masa yang sama, Tan juga percaya bahawa sektor NFO tidak mungkin melihat dasar anggaran negatif dalam Belanjawan 2021.

"Seperti pemain NFO lain, BToto telah dilanda wabak Covid-19. Oleh itu, kami tidak berpendapat akan ada kebijakan anggaran negatif dalam Anggaran 2021, yang akan menggagalkan pemulihan pendapatan untuk sektor NFO, ”kata Tan.

TA Securities mengekalkan panggilan beli di BToto, mencatat bahawa stok tersebut mempunyai kualiti pendapatan defensif dan hasil dividen yang menarik. Walau bagaimanapun, rumah penyelidikan juga mengubah harga sasarannya untuk BToto kepada RM2.40 daripada RM2.67 sebelumnya, dengan alasan pengurangan pendapatan dan dividen sesaham.

Pada akhir perdagangan pagi, saham BToto terakhir dilakukan pada harga RM2.12, naik 3 sen, dengan 393,000 saham diniagakan. - 19 Ogos 2020