Core Viewpoint - The company maintains its profit forecast for 2025/2026 and has raised its target price by 40% to HKD 4.9, reflecting a potential upside of 20% based on the adjusted P/E ratios [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - The company reported a revenue of RMB 12.278 billion for 1H25, an increase of 8.3% year-on-year, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 578 million, up 2.2% year-on-year [2] - The revenue growth was driven by both volume and price increases, with sales volume rising by 5.5% and average selling price (ASP) benefiting from product price hikes [3] Group 2: Product Category Performance - In 1H25, the revenue from carbonated drinks increased by 9.4% to RMB 9.38 billion, significantly contributing to overall revenue growth, with sugar-free carbonated products seeing double-digit growth [3] - Juice revenue grew by 0.8% to RMB 1.67 billion, primarily due to the relaunch of the "Cooler" brand [3] - Packaged water revenue increased by 8.2%, recovering from a contraction in the previous year, with "Ice Dew" driving this growth [3] - Coffee and other beverages saw a revenue increase of 13.8% to RMB 640 million, with energy drinks growing by 36%, particularly the core brand "Monster" [3] Group 3: Margin and Cost Analysis - The gross margin improved by 3.5 percentage points to 38.1% in 1H25, mainly due to the benefits of price increases [4] - The sales expense ratio increased by 3.8 percentage points to 26.3%, attributed to higher investments in freezers and expanding point-of-sale resources [4] - The net profit margin decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 4.7% due to the rise in sales expenses offsetting the gross margin improvement [4] Group 4: Strategic Plans - The company plans to continue high investment in the second half of the year to promote growth, having completed efficiency improvements in resource allocation [5] - The company is expanding beyond beverage distribution into food distribution, with non-beverage vending machine business reaching nearly RMB 200 million in 1H25 [5] - Long-term plans include strategically entering the health food sector while consolidating its advantages in core categories like carbonated drinks and juices, aiming for operational efficiency [5]
中金：维持中国食品跑赢行业评级 上调目标价至4.9港元