QILU BANK(SH:601665) Tai Ping Yang·2024-10-21 00:11Investment Rating - The report assigns a "Buy" rating for Qilu Bank, indicating an expected relative increase of over 15% compared to the CSI 300 index in the next six months [5][6]. Core Insights - Qilu Bank reported a 5.53% year-on-year increase in operating income for H1 2024, reaching 6.412 billion yuan, with net profit attributable to shareholders increasing by 16.98% to 2.347 billion yuan [3]. - The bank's loan balance grew by 8.81% year-to-date to 326.639 billion yuan, with corporate loans and retail loans accounting for 70.57% and 26.52% of the total, respectively [3]. - The net interest margin decreased to 1.54%, down 32 basis points year-on-year, primarily due to a decline in asset yield [3]. - Asset quality showed improvement, with a non-performing loan ratio of 1.24%, down 2 basis points from the end of 2023, and a provision coverage ratio of 309.25%, up 5.67% [3]. - The bank is focusing on rural finance, with deposits in county branches increasing by 11.23% to 127.895 billion yuan and loans growing by 13.84% to 98.506 billion yuan [3]. Financial Projections - The projected operating income for Qilu Bank is expected to grow at rates of 4.64%, 9.60%, and 10.95% for 2024, 2025, and 2026, respectively [4]. - Net profit is projected to increase by 15.46%, 15.73%, and 16.60% over the same period [4]. - The book value per share (BVPS) is expected to rise to 9.57 yuan in 2024, 10.91 yuan in 2025, and 12.45 yuan in 2026, with corresponding price-to-book (PB) ratios of 0.57, 0.50, and 0.44 [4].