Komo: Raise Pacific Shipping's (02343) target price to HK$4.3 to maintain “gain” rating

The Zhitong Finance App learned that J.P. Morgan Chase released a research report stating that it will maintain Pacific Shipping's (02343) “gain” rating and raise the target price from HK$3.8 to HK$4.3. According to J.P. Morgan Chase, Pacific Shipping's performance in the first half of the year far exceeded expectations. Net profit surged 3.1 times year-on-year to US$105 million, 67% higher than market expectations and 80% higher than the bank's forecast. The Group declared an interim dividend of HK15.5 cents per share, with a dividend ratio of 97%. Taking into account the $3.5 million share repurchase, shareholder return is equivalent to approximately 103% of net profit excluding the proceeds from the sale of ships.

According to Komo, the mid-term results were mainly driven by rental performance outperforming the freight index, increased revenue from operating activities, and earnings from derivatives in terms of market value, which raised Pacific Shipping's 2026-2028 net profit forecast by 84%, 10%, and 10%, respectively.