百融云2024年净利降21% 华泰证券与中金下调目标价

Core Viewpoint - Baidu Cloud (06608.HK) reported a revenue of 2.929 billion yuan for 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 9%, while net profit decreased by 21% to 266 million yuan [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - The net profit of Baidu Cloud fell short of expectations, primarily due to higher-than-expected expenses, which increased by 176% to 110 million yuan in share-based payments compared to 2023 [1] - The non-IFRS net profit, excluding share-based payments, was 376 million yuan, showing a slight increase of 0.3% year-on-year [1] - The company's revenue from BaaS financial cloud services saw a slowdown in growth, and the core customer count and average revenue from MaaS services declined [1][3] Group 2: Market Strategy and Future Outlook - The company plans to significantly increase its investment in research and marketing, which may impact profitability in the short term but is aimed at maintaining long-term competitive advantages [1] - Analysts from Huatai Securities and CICC have adjusted their profit forecasts for the company, predicting net profits of 244 million, 396 million, and 606 million yuan for 2025, 2026, and 2027, respectively, reflecting a decrease of 52.5% and 47.0% for the first two years [2] - The shift from a risk control-focused data service provider to an AI service provider is prompting a change in valuation methods, with target prices adjusted to 13.1 HKD and 12.88 HKD by different analysts [2] Group 3: Business Segments - Baidu Cloud's revenue is primarily derived from two segments: MaaS (data query services) and BaaS (transaction facilitation services), with financial cloud services accounting for 48.17% of total revenue [3] - The BaaS financial cloud segment generated 1.411 billion yuan in revenue in 2024, serving as the core revenue source for the company, although its growth rate has noticeably slowed [3] - The company has reported that the cumulative loan amount for its consumer loan products reached nearly 100 billion yuan by the end of 2023, with over 100 million registered users for its loan brands [3]