Chemexpress(SH:688131) EBSCN·2024-11-01 07:45Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company [4][6]. Core Views - The company reported a revenue of 1.619 billion yuan for the first three quarters of 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 17.65%, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 143 million yuan, up 21.31% year-over-year, which aligns with market expectations [1]. - The front-end business has shown significant growth, particularly in molecular building blocks and tool compounds, with revenues of 208 million yuan and 492 million yuan respectively in the first half of 2024, reflecting increases of 46.0% and 25.2% year-over-year [2]. - The company has a robust pipeline with over 126,000 types of life science reagents and has supported the publication of over 42,000 academic articles by research clients [2]. - The back-end business also demonstrated stable growth, with revenue of 352 million yuan in the first half of 2024, a 3.37% increase year-over-year, and a focus on enhancing its advantages in the XDC field [3]. Summary by Sections Financial Performance - For Q3 2024, the company achieved a revenue of 564 million yuan, a 13.80% increase year-over-year, and a net profit of 73 million yuan, up 212.93% year-over-year [1]. - The gross margin for Q3 2024 was 51.71%, an increase of 6.49 percentage points year-over-year, primarily driven by the sales of high-margin tool compounds [1]. Business Segments - The front-end business's overall gross margin improved to 59.54% in the first half of 2024, compared to 58.24% for the entire year of 2023 [2]. - The back-end business has a solid order book, with a 20% year-over-year increase in the number of projects on hand as of the first half of 2024 [3]. Profitability and Valuation - The report adjusts the company's net profit forecasts for 2024 and 2025 downwards to 172 million yuan and 252 million yuan respectively, reflecting a 54% reduction from previous estimates, while introducing a forecast of 399 million yuan for 2026 [4]. - The estimated earnings per share (EPS) for 2024, 2025, and 2026 are projected at 0.82 yuan, 1.20 yuan, and 1.89 yuan respectively, with corresponding price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of 45, 31, and 19 [4].