Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company with a target price of 2.62 HKD, expecting a relative return of over 20% within the next six months [1]. Core Views - The company reported a revenue of 1.63 billion HKD for the first half of 2024, a decrease of 3.08% year-on-year, while adjusted net profit increased by 21% to 350 million HKD [1]. - The decline in revenue is attributed to a scheduling conflict between the company's examination training and provincial civil service examination, leading to a drop in sales of training materials [1]. - The company has seen a 5% year-on-year increase in employee count, totaling 7,564 employees, while the average monthly active users remained stable at 9.2 million [1]. - The gross margin improved to 54.2%, up by 3.3 percentage points year-on-year, driven by reduced employee welfare expenses and enhanced operational efficiency [1]. - The company is leveraging AI to significantly enhance operational efficiency, with teacher productivity increasing by 275% [1]. Summary by Sections Financial Performance - For the first half of 2024, training service revenue was 1.379 billion HKD, accounting for 84.6% of total revenue, with a year-on-year decline of 3.1% [1]. - Book sales revenue was 252 million HKD, representing 15.4% of total revenue, also down by 3.0% year-on-year [1]. - The company’s net profit margin reached 17.03%, an increase of 12.19 percentage points year-on-year [1]. Operational Efficiency - The company’s management expense ratio decreased to 12.11%, down by 6.90 percentage points year-on-year, while the sales expense ratio increased to 19.65%, up by 1.56 percentage points [1]. - R&D expenses were 108 million HKD, a decrease of 24.4% year-on-year, with an R&D expense ratio of 6.64% [1]. Future Outlook - The company projects revenues of 3.152 billion RMB, 3.501 billion RMB, and 3.901 billion RMB for the years 2024 to 2026, respectively [2]. - Adjusted net profits are expected to be 551 million RMB, 630 million RMB, and 730 million RMB for the same period [2]. - Earnings per share (EPS) are forecasted at 0.25 RMB, 0.28 RMB, and 0.33 RMB, with corresponding price-to-earnings (PE) ratios of 10x, 9x, and 7x [2].
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