Report
Shanshan Wei, CFA
EUR 100.00 For Business Accounts Only

Kao Decelerates in 4Q but Growth Could Deliver Margin Expansion

Kao posted an in-line fourth quarter but missed our full-year sales growth estimate by a whisker. The full-year EBIT margin was also close to our forecast. We are maintaining our cash flow forecasts that assume steady margin expansion, and our JPY 8,800 fair value estimate and our wide economic moat rating. We believe Kao is fairly valued.
Fourth-quarter sales decelerated to just 0.3%, but Kao still ended the year in positive growth territory, with 1.3% like-for-like sales growth. By business di...
Underlying
Kao Corp.

Kao is engaged in the manufacture and sale of consumer products, cosmetics and industrial chemical products. Co.'s principal products include cosmetics, soaps, facial cleansers, body cleansers, shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products, hair coloring agents, beverages, sanitary napkins, baby diapers, bath additives, oral care products, laundry detergents, fabric treatments, cleaning products, and commercial-use products. Co. also provides fatty alcohols, fatty amines, fatty acids, glycerin, commercial-use edible fats and oils, surfactant, plastics additives, toner and toner binder for copiers and printers, ink and colorants for ink-jet printers, fragrances and aroma chemicals.

Provider
Morningstar
Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offer an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors.

Morningstar provides data on approximately 530,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 18 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and had approximately $185 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2016.

We have operations in 27 countries.

Analysts
Shanshan Wei, CFA

Other Reports on these Companies
Other Reports from Morningstar

ResearchPool Subscriptions

Get the most out of your insights

Get in touch