Bpost falls after Jefferies cuts to 'underperform' on end of the press concession

Bpost SA

09/01/2024 12:08

** Shares in bpost  BPOST.BR  fall around 13% after
Jefferies cuts the Belgian postal operator to "underperform"
from "hold" 
    ** The brokerage says it assumes bpost will lose most of the
volume under government press concession to its competition
after transition period ends
    ** L'Echo and De Tijd reported in November that bpost had
lost the tender and would not see its contract to distribute
daily newspapers renewed
    ** "The impact on bpost's FY24E EBIT will depend on the new
commercial agreements it establishes with publishers, and how
much volume it can retain," Jefferies says
    ** It cuts bpost's 2024 EBIT forecast by 40 million euros to
200 million euros, slashing its PT by 24% to 3.8 euros
    ** At that price, bpost would be valued at 8.2x FY2024 EBIT,
implying 20% potential downside and 14% discount to peer PostNL
 PTNL.AS , Jefferies says 
    ** Out of 10 analysts that cover the stock, ​one rates it
"strong buy", seven rate it "hold" and two​ rate it "strong
sell" or "sell"
    ** Shares are on track for their worst day in more than
seven months



($1 = 0.9145 euros)

 (Reporting by Dagmarah Mackos)
 ((dagmarah.mackos@tr.com))