Star-net(SZ:002396) HTSC·2025-08-22 03:55Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company with a target price of RMB 39.71 per share [7][5]. Core Views - The company reported a 1H25 revenue of RMB 8.886 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21.76%, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 212 million, up 69.32% year-on-year, driven by accelerated data center construction in the internet sector [1]. - The demand for network equipment remains strong, particularly in the data center segment, with expectations for continued high growth in internet capital expenditures in the second half of the year [4][5]. - The company is focusing on optimizing internal operations while benefiting from external market conditions, which is expected to accelerate performance growth [1]. Summary by Sections Financial Performance - In 1H25, the company achieved a gross margin of 30.46%, down 2.30 percentage points year-on-year, primarily due to strong purchasing power from internet clients and intensified industry competition [3]. - The company’s sales expense ratio, management expense ratio, and R&D expense ratio were 9.38%, 4.61%, and 11.17%, respectively, showing significant optimization compared to the previous year [3]. Product Segmentation - The company’s revenue from enterprise network equipment products reached RMB 6.459 billion, a year-on-year increase of 41.7%, with data center switch products from its subsidiary, Ruijie Networks, seeing a remarkable growth of 110% [2]. - The network terminal segment reported a revenue of RMB 320 million, down 23.1% year-on-year, indicating a challenging market environment for cloud and payment terminals [2]. Market Outlook - The company is expected to benefit from the easing supply of H20 and the gradual release of domestic GPUs, which will likely sustain high growth in internet capital expenditures [4]. - The company is also expanding into the metaverse and AI sectors, with its subsidiary, StarNet Vision, focusing on immersive experience spaces [4]. Profit Forecast and Valuation - The net profit forecasts for 2025, 2026, and 2027 have been adjusted to RMB 806 million, RMB 1.092 billion, and RMB 1.358 billion, respectively, reflecting slight upward adjustments based on business conditions [5]. - The company is assigned a PE valuation of 29x for 2025, with a target price of RMB 39.71 per share, indicating a positive outlook based on expected performance growth [5].