Report
Shanshan Wei, CFA

Kao Posts Slight Miss in 1Q but Looks On Track to Regain Momentum; Stock Appears Undervalued

Wide-moat Kao posted a slightly weaker-than-expected first quarter, but we think this is primarily due to the timing of product launches in its consumer products business versus a year ago, and with retail demand remaining steady, it seems likely that Kao will meet its guidance for full-year sales and operating income growth of 3.4% and 5.0%, respectively. We have slightly lowered our 2018 assumptions to accommodate the recent strengthening of the Japanese yen, but this does not affect our JPY 8...
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

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