Hongqi Chain(002697) INDUSTRIAL SECURITIES·2024-11-17 02:19Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Add" rating for the company [3][6]. Core Views - The company is experiencing a decline in investment income, which is impacting overall performance. The planned divestiture of Gansu Hongqi's equity aims to improve profitability by shedding non-performing assets [5][8]. - The company has a stable gross margin of 29.43% in Q3 2024, with a slight year-on-year increase, while the net margin has decreased to 4.78% due to rising expense ratios and declining investment income [5][6]. - Revenue for Q3 2024 is reported at 2.581 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.17%, with a net profit of 123 million yuan, down 17.91% year-on-year [7][8]. Financial Summary - The company’s revenue projections for 2024-2026 are adjusted to 10.409 billion, 10.931 billion, and 11.590 billion yuan, respectively, with corresponding net profit estimates of 577 million, 623 million, and 643 million yuan [4][6]. - The earnings per share (EPS) are forecasted to be 0.42, 0.46, and 0.47 yuan for 2024, 2025, and 2026, respectively, with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 13.0, 12.0, and 11.6 [4][6]. - The company’s return on equity (ROE) is projected to decline from 13.7% in 2023 to 11.9% by 2026 [4][6].