
Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN)
ANN is engaged in the manufacturing of personal protection equipment for healthcare and industrial workplaces. The company provides its products under the brands such as HyFlex, Ringers, MICROFLEX, TouchNTuff, GAMMEX, and AlphaTec.
Recommendation Rationale – SELL at AUD 26.52
- Financial Performance: In 1HFY24, the company reported sales of USD 784.9mn, depicting a decline of 7.6% on a constant currency basis, primarily due to lower Healthcare sales despite growth in the Industrial sector. On a reported basis, sales decreased by 6.0%. Healthcare sales experienced a 15.1% decline in constant currency, attributed to price reductions earlier in the fiscal year and continued destocking by customers in Surgical and Life Sciences.
- Outlook: The company narrowed its guidance range for FY24 adjusted EPS to US 94 cents to US 110cents, excluding one-time costs. FY24 Statutory EPS is now expected to range between US 54 cents and US 70 cents.
- Emerging Risks: Regulatory changes in healthcare can impact the company, potentially leading to fines, lawsuits, or business restrictions. Supply chain disruptions may impact the company’s operations, leading to potential shortages, delays, or increased costs.
ANN Daily Chart

Valuation Methodology: Price/Earnings Approach (FY June'25E) (Illustrative)

Stock might trade at some discount to its peers, considering lower Healthcare sales, continued destocking by customers in Surgical and Life Sciences, supply chain disruption, and other factors. For valuation, few peers like Integral Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: IDX), Australian Clinical Labs Ltd (ASX: ACL), and Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL) have been considered. Considering the current trading levels, narrowed guidance, decline in top line, risks associated, and downside indicated by the valuation, it is prudent to book profit at the current levels. Hence, a ‘Sell’ recommendation is given on the stock at the current price of AUD 26.52, as of June 21, 2024, at 2:30 PM AEST.
Markets are trading in a highly volatile zone currently due to certain macro-economic issues and geopolitical issues prevailing geopolitical tensions. Therefore, it is prudent to follow a cautious approach while investing.
Note 1: Past performance is neither an indicator nor a guarantee of future performance.
Note 2: The reference date for all price data, currency, technical indicators, support, and resistance levels is 21 June 2024. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from REFINITIV.
Note 3: Investment decisions should be made depending on an individual's appetite for upside potential, risks, holding duration, and any previous holdings. An 'Exit' from the stock can be considered if the Target Price mentioned as per the Valuation and or the technical levels provided has been achieved and is subject to the factors discussed above.
Technical Indicators Defined: -
Support: A level at which the stock prices tend to find support if they are falling, and downtrend may take a pause backed by demand or buying interest.
Resistance: A level at which the stock prices tend to find resistance when they are rising, and uptrend may take a pause due to profit booking or selling interest.
Stop-loss: In general, it is a level to protect further losses in case of any unfavourable movement in the stock prices.