2023-08-04 01:05:41 PM ET (MT Newswires)
01:05 PM EDT, 08/04/2023 (MT Newswires) -- National Bank on Friday maintain its Outperform rating on Chorus Aviation (CHR.TO) following Q2 results but trimmed its target to $4.00 from $4.25.
The company reported revenue of $397 million, compared to National's estimate of $419 million and consensus at $406 million, while adjusted EPS was $0.08 compared to National's at $0.11 estimate and consensus at $0.09.
Chorus was targeting a launch of its new US$500 million (minimum) regional aircraft investment fund in H1 2023, but management is now assuming fund launch beyond 2023 (although it could be earlier).
"Our forecast had assumed that Fund III was launched in Q2 and would begin to contribute financially in Q3 this year, but we have pushed the launch to the right and now only expect a financial contribution starting in Q2/24 (with minor implications to our forecast)," the bank noted.
National added: "Although we are disappointed that the company's Fund III has yet to be launched as was expected in H1, we remain positive on the overall outlook for regional aircraft leasing with the company's shift to an asset-light model to drive better free cash flow generation and shareholder returns in the coming years."