CBEST(SH:600729)2024-09-05 04:39Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Buy" (maintained) [1] Core Views - The report highlights that the company's performance is under short-term pressure due to high base effects from previous periods, particularly from the "Ma Xiao" investment and "Deng Kang" oral care business, which have impacted profits [4] - The company is actively increasing promotional efforts to drive sales, with a focus on enhancing product offerings and optimizing supply chains [4] - The report anticipates a recovery in performance in the second half of the year as the impact of short-term base disturbances diminishes [4] Summary by Relevant Sections Market Data - Closing price as of August 30, 2024, is 17.66 yuan - The highest and lowest prices in the past year are 34.57 yuan and 16.91 yuan respectively - The price-to-book ratio is 1.1, and the dividend yield is 7.68% [1] Financial Performance - For the first half of 2024, the company reported revenue of 8.98 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 12% - The net profit attributable to shareholders for the same period was 712 million yuan, down 21% year-on-year [4][5] - The company’s gross margin improved to 26.65% in the first half of 2024, an increase of 0.74 percentage points year-on-year [4] Sales and Promotions - The company conducted 50 promotional events in the first half of 2024, which collectively drove sales of 6.58 billion yuan - The first "611 Department Store Festival" saw a 12% increase in customer traffic, contributing 1.05 billion yuan to sales [4] Future Projections - The report adjusts profit forecasts for 2024 and 2025, projecting net profits of 1.366 billion yuan and 1.492 billion yuan respectively, with corresponding price-to-earnings ratios of 6 and 5 times [4][5] - The company is exploring new retail models, including "fresh + discount" supermarkets, which have shown promising early results [4]