LBX(SH:603883) Soochow Securities·2024-11-01 22:30Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company [1] Core Views - The company's Q3 2024 profit decline is primarily due to new store ramp-up and high base effects from the previous year, with the Torch project expected to further enhance gross margins [2][3] - The company achieved a revenue of 16.232 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2024, a slight increase of 1.19% year-on-year, while the net profit attributable to shareholders was 630 million yuan, down 12.06% [2] - The company continues to expand steadily, focusing on advantageous regions and deepening its presence in lower-tier markets, with a total of 15,591 stores as of Q3 2024 [3] Financial Forecast and Valuation - The company's net profit forecasts for 2024-2026 have been adjusted to 8.25 billion yuan, 9.51 billion yuan, and 10.86 billion yuan respectively, reflecting the impact of slower store expansion and prolonged ramp-up periods [4] - The expected P/E ratios corresponding to the current market value are 16, 14, and 12 times for 2024, 2025, and 2026 respectively [4] - The gross margin for the first three quarters of 2024 was 33.87%, an increase of 1.32 percentage points, attributed to the Torch project and cost reduction efforts [2]