璞泰来：经营趋稳，逐步修复可期

Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Buy" and is maintained [6]. Core Views - The company reported Q3 2024 financial results with revenue of 3.509 billion, a year-on-year decline of 9.62% but a quarter-on-quarter increase of 6.41%. The net profit attributable to the parent company was 381 million, showing a year-on-year growth of 17.31% but a quarter-on-quarter decline of 7.83%. The non-recurring net profit was 369 million, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 26.00% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 5.75% [6][7]. Summary by Sections Business Performance - In Q3 2024, the shipment of negative electrode materials slightly decreased quarter-on-quarter, continuing the company's strategy of optimizing customer structure, with unit profitability expected to remain stable or improve slightly. The shipment of coated separators is expected to continue increasing quarter-on-quarter, in line with industry development trends, with stable profitability anticipated. The base film business saw a slight decline in shipments, related to project demand, but still maintained profitability. Equipment revenue is expected to increase quarter-on-quarter, although profitability may decline slightly due to order structure impacts. Other businesses, including PVDF, PAA, and aluminum-plastic films, are expected to remain stable [7][8]. Cost Management - The company achieved significant cost reduction and efficiency improvement, with a Q3 2024 expense ratio of 11.0%, down 1.7 percentage points year-on-year and 0.6 percentage points quarter-on-quarter. The sales expense ratio, management expense ratio, R&D expense ratio, and financial expense ratio were 1.3%, 3.7%, 5.3%, and 0.8%, respectively, showing year-on-year changes of -0.1, -0.4, -1.6, and +0.3 percentage points, and quarter-on-quarter changes of stable, -0.2, -0.7, and +0.3 percentage points [7][8]. Future Outlook - The company's Q3 report indicates that various business operations are stabilizing, with an improving trend when excluding impairment impacts. The profitability of coated separators is expected to solidify the company's profit forecasts. Looking ahead, the focus for negative electrodes remains on Europe and new cost-reduction processes, while new businesses such as base films, PAA, aluminum-plastic films, and composite current collectors are expected to contribute incrementally. If negative electrode impairments can be effectively reduced, the performance will have elasticity. The projected revenues for 2024 and 2025 are 1.7 billion and 2.2 billion, corresponding to P/E ratios of 23 and 18 times, respectively [8].