KSTAR(002518) 光大证券·2024-09-01 10:16Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company [2][4] Core Views - The company's data center business remains stable, with a slight decline in gross margin [2] - The European residential energy storage market has slowed, putting pressure on the company's energy storage and charging business [2] - The company has significantly increased R&D investment, driving technological advancements and enhancing core competitiveness [2] - The data center business is expected to see new growth opportunities with the acceleration of AI development [2] - The energy storage business is anticipated to recover as European residential energy storage inventory gradually depletes [2] Financial Performance - In H1 2024, the company reported revenue of 1.891 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 32.99% [1] - Net profit attributable to the parent company was 219 million yuan, down 56.24% year-on-year [1] - In Q2 2024, revenue was 1.06 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 25.32%, with net profit attributable to the parent company at 95 million yuan, down 64.4% year-on-year [1] - The data center business generated revenue of 1.232 billion yuan in H1 2024, with a gross margin of 35.82%, down 2.17 percentage points year-on-year [2] - The energy storage and charging business revenue was 627 million yuan, down 59.67% year-on-year, with a gross margin of 22.67%, down 5.06 percentage points [2] R&D and Technological Advancements - R&D expenses in H1 2024 were 130 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.36% [2] - The company has developed diversified and integrated data center products [2] - In the new energy sector, the company is exploring higher system efficiency, lower system costs, and improved safety and reliability [2] Market and Valuation - The company's current stock price corresponds to a PE ratio of 15/11/9 times for 2024-2026 [2] - The total market capitalization is 9.496 billion yuan, with a total share capital of 582 million shares [4] - The stock's price range over the past year was between 14.84 yuan and 30.31 yuan [4] Future Projections - The company's net profit attributable to the parent company is projected to be 623/842/1,048 million yuan for 2024-2026, with a downward revision of 32%/25%/17% [2] - Revenue is expected to grow by 25.46% and 18.70% in 2025 and 2026, respectively [3] - The company's ROE (diluted) is forecasted to be 13.60%/16.11%/17.45% for 2024-2026 [3]