Australia's ARB Corporation set for near 4-yr best day on HY profit jump

ARB

20/02/2024 02:49

(Updates with Citi note and current share moves)
    ** Shares of ARB Corporation  ARB.AX  rise as much as 13% to
A$40.430, hitting highest level since April 29, 2022
        ** ARB set for best day since March 26, 2020 if trend
holds       
    ** Motor vehicles accessories maker reports an 8.1% hike in
its half-yearly net profit attributable
    ** Co declares interim dividend of 34 Australian cents per
share
    ** Brokerage Citi says net profit after tax is 2% above
Visible Alpha consensus; adds beat would have been higher if not
for unexpected A$1.7 mln ($1.11 mln) expense related to a
deferred payment for acquisition of UK-based pickup products and
accessories supplier Truckman
        ** Brokerage retains target price of A$35.18/shr and
"buy" rating on stock
  
        ** Says outlook seems "incrementally better" given
export sales turning positive in Jan and improvement in
Truckman's performance, among other factors
  
    ** Stock down 0.5% YTD, as of last close


($1 = 1.5316 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava and Shivangi Lahiri in
Bengaluru)
 ((Adwitiya.Srivastava@thomsonreuters.com;))