Citi sees near-term uncertainty for NZ's Serko Booking.com forecasts

Serko

18/05/2022 22:54

** Citi sees high degree of uncertainty for forecasts of
Serko's  SKO.NZ  Booking.com business in the near term 
    ** Citi lowers PT to A$5.10 from A$5.75; maintains rating at
"buy/high risk" 
    ** Citi says the business travel software maker's FY23
guidance implies a slower-than-expected ramp in Booking.com
volumes 
    ** We see management’s assumption of an 85% recovery in ANZ
corporate travel volumes in FY23 estimates as conservative -
Citi
    ** Citi sees FY23 EBITDA loss widening to NZ$23.6 mln
($14.85 mln) from its previous loss guidance of NZ$21.0 million
due to slower-than-expected Booking.com revenue 
    ** Citi, however, sees the co's expansion in unmanaged
travel in partnership with Booking.com to drive earnings growth
over medium term and also help the core business 
    ** Three of four analysts rate the stock "buy" or higher,
one "sell"; their median PT is NZ$7.14– Refinitiv Eikon data 
    ** Stock is down 35.3% this year, as of last close
    
 ($1 = 1.5891 New Zealand dollars)

 (Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru)
 ((navya.mittal@thomsonreuters.com))