Core Viewpoint - Haitong International initiates coverage on Huazhu Group-S (01179) with an "Outperform" rating and a target price of HKD 41, highlighting its leadership in China's hotel chain market and benefits from increasing chain rate [1] Group 1: Market Position and Growth - Huazhu Group is the leader in the Chinese hotel chain market, benefiting from an increase in the chain rate, with its room nights ranking in the top tier [1] - The company has opened over 2,300 new hotels this year, with a strong focus on mid-to-high-end brands, which have grown by 25% year-on-year, surpassing the overall growth rate of 7% [3] - The management is confident in opening over 2,300 hotels this year and aims for a total of 12,814 hotels by 2025, with a long-term goal of 20,000 hotels by 2030, targeting a 15% market share [3] Group 2: Revenue and Profitability - The company is transitioning to a high-margin, light-asset franchise model, closing low-quality stores, which is expected to enhance profitability [1] - The adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 3.3 percentage points to 36% in Q3, with Legacy-HZ's margin rising to 43%, indicating a positive trend in profitability [5] - The forecast for adjusted EBITDA is RMB 7.94 billion and RMB 9.13 billion for 2025 and 2026, respectively, with expected margin improvements of 5 and 3 percentage points [5] Group 3: Membership and Customer Engagement - Huazhu operates the largest and most resilient membership system in the industry, with over 300 million members and an average of 190 million daily active users on its app [4] - Membership numbers grew by 17.1% year-on-year to 301 million, with member room nights booked increasing by 19.7%, accounting for 74% of total room nights sold [4] - Strengthening membership operations is expected to empower franchisees and enhance future monetization opportunities for the company [4] Group 4: Market Demand and Supply Dynamics - The supply-demand situation in the hotel industry continues to improve, with 396,500 new hotels (15 rooms or more) opened in October, a 7% year-on-year increase [2] - Domestic holiday travel shows a sustained increase in cross-regional movement, with approximately 2.142 billion trips during the first seven days of the National Day holiday in 2025, reflecting a 7% year-on-year growth [2] - The fourth quarter is expected to maintain resilience in leisure tourism, although business travel remains weak, with a projected 0.5% year-on-year increase in single-room revenue for Legacy-HZ [2]