Core Viewpoint - After a four-month high-level consolidation, international gold prices are beginning to prepare for a new round of increases [1] Group 1: Gold Price Movement - On September 3, Comex gold futures reached a high of $3,616.9 per ounce, while London gold spot prices hit $3,546.9 per ounce, both surpassing the historical highs from late April [2] - The increase in gold prices has stimulated a rise in related companies in the A-share market, with the Shenwan gold sector achieving an average increase of 11.35% in September [2] Group 2: Company Performance - Western Gold has shown significant performance elasticity, with revenue and profit for the first half of the year increasing by 69% and 132% year-on-year, ranking second and third among ten companies in the Shenwan gold sector [2] - The high growth rate of Western Gold is based on a low historical base from the same period in 2024, suggesting that overall growth may slow down in the second half of the year as the performance base rises [4] - Companies such as Zhaojin Gold, Xiaocheng Technology, and Shandong Gold are expected to maintain good performance elasticity for the entire year based on historical bases, half-year report growth rates, and sell-side profit expectations [5] Group 3: Profitability Analysis - The companies in the Shenwan gold sector can be divided into upstream mining and midstream smelting categories, with significant differences in profitability performance across different industry segments [6] - Mining companies' profit margins are highly correlated with gold price trends, as evidenced by Shanjin International's gross profit margin for gold products increasing by 7.2 percentage points to 79% in the first half of the year [6] - In contrast, smelting-focused gold companies face rising raw material prices, leading to a decrease in profit margins, as seen with Hunan Gold, where the gross profit margin fell by 1.4 percentage points to 2.43% [8] Group 4: Fund Holdings and Market Sentiment - Fund holdings in the Shenwan gold sector have fluctuated significantly, increasing from 1.787 billion shares to 2.261 billion shares before dropping to 1.658 billion shares by the end of 2024 [20] - As of June 30, the total number of fund holdings in the Shenwan gold sector rebounded to 2.089 billion shares, just below the peak in the past three years [21] - The investment logic of professional institutions emphasizes performance elasticity, with gold stocks that showed rapid growth in the first half of the year becoming key targets for fund increases [22]