Guoxin Securities·2025-05-23 03:12Investment Rating - The investment rating for Qingdao Beer is "Outperform the Market" [6][17]. Core Viewpoints - The beer industry is experiencing a diversification in demand, leading to increased requirements for product innovation among beer companies. Consumers are increasingly pursuing high-end, healthy, personalized, and value-for-money options. From the second half of 2024, leading beer companies are accelerating product and channel innovation, such as launching low-alcohol/non-alcoholic beers and high-quality craft beers, while actively collaborating with emerging channels like instant retail and bulk snacks [2][10]. - Qingdao Beer is proactively responding to market changes by accelerating its innovation pace. The company is focusing on rapidly growing new channels, such as e-commerce and instant retail, and has introduced a "30-minute fresh delivery" model, which has covered 29 cities nationwide. The management emphasizes systematic innovation driven by technology to adapt to changing consumer demands and habits [3][11]. - The company is committed to developing its core beer business while gradually expanding into non-beer sectors. The acquisition of a yellow wine business is aimed at meeting diverse consumer needs and balancing seasonal sales fluctuations. The management has stated that the expansion into non-beer businesses will not compromise the focus on the beer sector, which remains the company's priority [3][12]. Financial Forecasts and Performance - The company has adjusted its revenue and profit forecasts for 2025-2027, expecting total revenue of 332.5 billion, 341.8 billion, and 350.3 billion yuan, respectively, with year-on-year growth rates of +3.4%, +2.8%, and +2.5%. The expected net profit attributable to shareholders is 47.6 billion, 51.2 billion, and 53.6 billion yuan, with growth rates of +9.7%, +7.5%, and +4.7% [4][17]. - For 2024, the company anticipates total revenue of 321.4 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.3% year-on-year, with a net profit of 43.4 billion yuan, reflecting a slight increase of 1.8% [12][14]. - The company is expected to maintain a strong gross margin due to cost reductions, with a projected gross margin of 41.6% in the first quarter of 2025, up 1.2 percentage points year-on-year [16]. Market Position and Strategy - Qingdao Beer is leveraging its competitive advantages in the market, with a comprehensive product range and leading brand strength. The company's systematic innovation is expected to support its performance growth [4][17]. - The company is focusing on improving the quality of growth by actively controlling channel inventory and enhancing product freshness at the terminal level, which is expected to lead to a strong recovery in sales as it enters the peak season [3][15].