WUSHANG GROUP(SZ:000501) EBSCN·2024-03-30 16:00Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company with a current price of 7.40 CNY [2] Core Views - The company achieved a revenue growth of 13.26% year-on-year in 2023, while the net profit attributable to the parent company decreased by 30.72% [5] - The comprehensive gross margin increased by 2.28 percentage points to 47.03% in 2023, although the expense ratio rose by 5.81 percentage points to 41.00% [6] - The company is actively upgrading its main stores and conducting diverse marketing activities to enhance customer engagement [7] - The profit performance exceeded expectations due to proactive store adjustments, leading to an upward revision of EPS forecasts for 2024 and 2025 by 7% and 6% respectively [8] Financial Performance Summary - In 2023, the company reported operating revenue of 71.78 billion CNY, with a net profit of 2.09 billion CNY, translating to a diluted EPS of 0.27 CNY [5] - The quarterly breakdown shows that in Q4 2023, the company achieved operating revenue of 17.40 billion CNY, a year-on-year increase of 17.88%, and a net profit of 0.91 billion CNY [5] - The company’s P/E ratio was 27 in 2023, with a P/B ratio remaining stable at 0.5 [5][23] Store and Marketing Strategy - The shopping center segment generated revenue of 3.20 billion CNY, up 9.15% year-on-year, while the supermarket segment saw a decline of 5.23% to 2.47 billion CNY [7] - New store openings included the Nanchang Wushang MALL and several upgraded and expanded stores, alongside various cultural events to attract customers [7] Future Outlook - The company has strong competitive advantages in Wuhan and is expected to improve profitability through new store openings [8] - EPS forecasts for 2026 have been introduced at 0.35 CNY, reflecting positive growth expectations [8]