At 72% of our FY14 forecast, we deem CSE's 9M14 core net profit of S$25.0m as in line with expectations. 3Q14 core net profit of S$9.4m was in line, at 27% of our FY14 forecast, following four consecutive quarters of earnings misses. We trim FY14 EPS by 2% due to higher taxes but keep our FY15-16 EPS forecasts. Given its stabilising operations and FY14-16 dividend yields of 4-5% that would be supportive of valuations,
we turn positive on CSE and upgrade it from Reduce to Hold.
Our target price is raised as we roll over to 9x CY16 P/E (its 5-year mean) from 9x CY15 P/E.
We will revisit the stock once there are stronger-than-expected earnings and orders.
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