Australia's Altium extends falls on weak guidance, analysts cut PT

Altium

22/02/2022 24:59

(Adds share move, Barrenjoey comments)
    ** Shares of software maker Altium  ALU.AX  fall as much as
2.8% to A$31.54
    ** Altium on Monday posted a 37.7% rise in its half-yearly
profit to $22.9 mln, but flagged that its underlying EBITDA
margin for FY22 is expected be at the lower end of the 34%-36%
range due to reinvestment into enterprise and cloud sales 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASX210SMb
    ** Brokerage Jefferies says Altium Ltd's  ALU.AX  forecast
for lower EBITDA margins due to temporary investment for FY22
implies that it is 4% below consensus 
    ** Barrenjoey says ALU's strong 1H22 result and revenue
guidance (top-end of $213-$217m) was overshadowed by a softer
than expected EBITDA margin outlook
    ** Jefferies cuts PT on ALU to A$42.61 from A$44.61 while
Barrenjoey slashes PT to A$45.00 from A$50.00
    ** Jefferies downgrades Altium's FY22 and FY23 net profit
after tax estimates by 7.2% and 2.3%, respectively, to reflect
the higher costs  
    ** We remain supportive of ALU's strategic direction and
growth opportunity - Barrenjoey
    ** ALU stock set for a fourth straight day of losses

 (Reporting by Arundhati Dutta & Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru)
 ((tejaswi.marthi@thomsonreuters.com))