Kirin's Self-Improvement Amply Rewarded

Up more than a third over the past year (and around 30% over the past two years), Kirin (OTCPK:KNBWY) has outperformed peers like Asahi (OTC:ASBRY), Sapporo (OTC:SOOBF), and Suntory (OTCPK:STBFY) as management has made several moves to improve several underperforming segments of the business, including the sale of the long-struggling Brazilian operation to Heineken (OTCQX:HEINY). Now the question is what Kirin management can do to stimulate growth when its core market(s) offer minimal underlying growth at best and acquisition prices are steep.

Kirin shares deserved their run, but management needs to prove that it can deliver more than low single-digit FCF growth in the future. Although the underlying growth assumptions are not very high here, and the shares are undervalued on the basis of established industry M&A premiums, Kirin's best growth opportunities hinge upon the company executing well in precisely those places where it has struggled, and that's a little too aggressive for my comfort today.

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Kirin's Self-Improvement Amply Rewarded