Jefferies expects weak 1H for Australian technical services firm ALS

ALS

08/11/2023 04:30

** Jefferies expects weak 1H24 for Australian professional
technical services provider ALS Ltd  ALQ.AX , citing seasonality
in commodities on weak spending
    ** Retains "hold" rating with a PT of A$12.80
    ** Brokerage expects 1H24 EBIT of A$241 mln ($155.06 mln),
compared with last year's A$276.3 mln
    ** Forecasts 1H24 NPAT of A$154 mln vs A$164.3 mln logged
last year
    ** Seasonality, which impacts commodities, has been masked
by the recent uptrend in exploration spend - Jefferies
    ** Also points to "lacklustre" junior miner equity raises,
an important barometer for exploration market health
    ** ALQ to announce HY results on Nov. 14
    ** Five of nine analysts rate ALQ "buy" or higher, and four
rate "hold"; median PT is A$12.80 – LSEG data
    ** ALQ down 10.7% this year, as of last close


($1 = 1.5542 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru)
 ((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar))