Shenzhen, China, Sept. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lianhe Sowell International Group Ltd (Nasdaq: LHSW) (the “Company” or “Lianhe Sowell”) today announced that it has signed a series of supply agreements with Shenzhen Hechuan Intelligent Electronics Co., Ltd. (“Hechuan Intelligent”). Hechuan Intelligence has become an agent of Lianhe sowell, providing a series of AI-driven 3D automatic optical inspection（“AOI“）solutions to Midea Group (“Midea”）— including in-line 3D AOI systems, fully automated 3D optical ...

Summary of Key Points from the Research Report Industry Overview - **Industry**: Retail and Consumer Goods in China - **Retail Sales Growth**: Retail sales grew by 3.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) in July 2025, below the Bloomberg consensus of 4.6% and a decrease from 4.8% y-o-y growth in June 2025 [2][8][12] Core Insights - **Sector Performance**: - Retail sales of goods increased by 4% y-o-y, with notable deceleration in fast-growing sectors such as household appliances and audiovisual equipment (+29%) and furniture (+21%) compared to 2Q25 [2][12] - Beverage sales grew by 3% and cosmetics by 5%, both showing positive month-on-month (m-o-m) growth, while construction and decoration materials (-1%) and auto sales (-2%) declined [2][12] - Catering growth remained weak at 1%, with service-related retail growth slowing to 5.2% in the first seven months of 2025, down from 5.3% in 1H25 [2][12] - **Policy Impact**: - Newly issued regulations aimed at promoting frugality in government organs have negatively impacted sectors like catering and baijiu [2] - A recent statement from Xinhuanet advocating for proper policy implementation may alleviate some overreactions from local governments, potentially easing pressure on affected industries [2] - **Government Stimulus**: - The government has introduced multiple stimulus measures, including childcare subsidies and interest subsidies for personal consumption loans, to boost consumption [3] - A third round of trade-in subsidies amounting to RMB 69 billion has been earmarked [3] - Economists at HSBC have revised China's GDP growth forecast for 2025 to 4.9%, up from 4.5%, anticipating further fiscal policies to stimulate domestic demand [3] Company-Specific Insights - **Ninebot**: - The company showed strong interim results with 2Q25 revenue and net profit exceeding market expectations. A 49% earnings compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected from 2024 to 2027 [4] - The stock is currently trading at a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 21x for 2025 and 16x for 2026, deemed attractive [4] - **China Resources Beer**: - Expected low-single-digit y-o-y growth in sales volume and high-single-digit growth in net profit for 1H25. The stock is trading at a PE of 15x for 2025 and 14x for 2026, with a dividend yield of 3.9% for 2025 [4] - **YUTO**: - The company is expected to benefit from the shift of orders to overseas markets amid trade tensions, enhancing its competitiveness and market share. The stock is trading at a PE of 13x for 2025 and 11x for 2026 [4] Additional Insights - **Consumer Confidence**: The consumer confidence index declined by 0.1 month-on-month in June 2025, indicating potential concerns among consumers regarding spending [20] - **Unemployment Rate**: The surveyed urban unemployment rate increased by 0.2% month-on-month in July 2025, reflecting ongoing labor market challenges [15] - **Subsector Performance**: - The consumer discretionary sector has shown strong performance with a year-to-date increase of 11.6% and a one-year increase of 44.4% [27] - The baijiu subsector is currently trading at a 17x 12-month forward PE, while the beer subsector is at 18x [30][33] This comprehensive summary captures the essential insights and data points from the research report, providing a clear overview of the current state of the retail and consumer goods industry in China, along with specific company performances and broader economic indicators.

Summary of Southbound Trading Tracking for China/Hong Kong Consumer Sector Industry Overview - The report focuses on the **China/Hong Kong Consumer** sector, specifically analyzing **Southbound trading** trends for major HK-listed consumer stocks during July 2025 and year-to-date (YTD) 2025. Key Findings 1. **Overall Trends in July 2025** - Average Southbound holdings as a percentage of free float increased by **0.8 percentage points (ppt)** month-over-month (MoM) for the **66 major HK-listed consumer stocks** eligible for Connect trading, with **35 under coverage** [1][6] 2. **Year-to-Date Performance** - Average net flows from Southbound trading were up **3.6%** compared to the end of 2024 [2][6] - A total of **41 stocks** recorded inflows, while **25 stocks** experienced outflows, and none showed zero net flows [3][6] 3. **Inflows and Outflows in July** - **27 stocks** recorded inflows, **38 stocks** recorded outflows, and **1 stock** showed zero net flows [2][6] - **Top five stocks with inflows**: - CR Beverage: **20.8ppt** increase - Xiaocaiyuan: **15.2ppt** - Chervon: **9.5ppt** - H&H: **7.3ppt** - Tianli Education: **5.9ppt** [9][10] - **Top five stocks with outflows**: - Jiumaojiu: **-5.0ppt** - CR Beer: **-3.7ppt** - Popmart: **-3.2ppt** - Xtep: **-2.9ppt** - Samsonite: **-2.8ppt** [9][10] 4. **Category Performance** - Various categories such as **Beer, Apparel & Sportswear, Agriculture, Gold, Home Appliance, Home Improvement, Toys, Education, and Luggage** experienced average inflows during July [9][10] - Categories like **Beer, HPC, Home Appliances, Home Improvement, Education, and Luggage** recorded outflows YTD 2025, while other categories had average inflows [9][10] 5. **Detailed Stock Performance** - The report includes detailed statistics on Southbound stakes as a percentage of free float for various companies, highlighting significant changes in investor interest [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] Additional Insights - The report emphasizes the importance of monitoring Southbound trading trends as they reflect investor sentiment and potential shifts in market dynamics within the consumer sector in Hong Kong and China [6][7][8]

Investment Rating - The report indicates a mixed investment outlook for the industry, with industrial production rated at 0, fixed asset investment at -1, and retail sales at +2 [2]. Core Insights - The report highlights that China's industrial production and fixed asset investment missed market expectations, while retail sales showed significant growth, indicating a divergence in economic performance across sectors [1][17]. - The report emphasizes the importance of government policy in stimulating domestic demand, particularly through consumer goods trade-in programs, amidst ongoing deflationary pressures and a prolonged downturn in the property market [1][17]. Summary by Sections Industrial Production - Industrial production (IP) growth moderated to 5.8% year-on-year in May from 6.1% in April, primarily due to slowing export growth linked to increased US tariffs [8][11]. - Sequentially, IP is estimated to have contracted by 0.1% month-on-month non-annualized in May [8]. - Key sectors such as electrical machinery and chemical manufacturing experienced slower output growth, overshadowing gains in automobile production [8][11]. Fixed Asset Investment - Fixed asset investment (FAI) growth slowed to 2.9% year-on-year in May from 3.6% in April, driven mainly by declines in infrastructure and property investments [10][11]. - Manufacturing investment growth remained robust at 7.8% year-on-year in May, contrasting with the overall slowdown in FAI [10]. Retail Sales - Retail sales growth surged to 6.4% year-on-year in May, significantly above market consensus, driven by strong sales in home appliances and communication equipment [11][12]. - The growth in online and offline goods sales improved, with notable increases in restaurant sales revenue as well [11]. - The report cautions that the recent retail sales improvement may not be sustainable due to potential payback effects and funding shortages in consumer goods trade-in programs [1][11]. Property Market - Property-related activity remained weak, with property sales declining by 3.3% year-on-year in volume and 5.9% in value terms in May [13]. - New home starts and completions also showed significant year-on-year declines, indicating ongoing challenges in the real estate sector [13]. Labor Market - The nationwide unemployment rate edged down to 5.0% in May from 5.1% in April, reflecting seasonal patterns, while the unemployment rate for migrant workers increased slightly [14][17]. - Youth unemployment rates showed some moderation but are expected to rise amid the upcoming college graduation season [14][17].

Group 1 - The core function of brand management is to control pricing across all channels, as price chaos indicates a loss of control over the pricing system, leading to market disorder [1] - Price chaos results in a broken channel profit chain, with online low-price promotions causing significant declines in offline store traffic and profits for distributors [3] - Brand value dilution occurs when consumers purchase products from low-price channels, leading to skepticism about the brand's premium positioning and a shift towards lower-priced markets [5] Group 2 - The proliferation of counterfeit products and a trust crisis arise from low-price competition, which squeezes the profit margins of genuine products, allowing counterfeiters to thrive [5] - The core causes of channel chaos include insufficient e-commerce awareness and reliance on traditional distribution models, leading to unregulated low-price distribution [8] - An imbalance in profit distribution mechanisms among brands and distributors incentivizes short-term low-price dumping, further complicating price control efforts [8]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In Q2, net sales decreased by 6%, while organic net sales decreased by 4.6% when excluding unfavorable foreign exchange impacts [21][36] - Adjusted EBITDA was $71.3 million, a decline of $24 million compared to the previous year, excluding investment income [23][36] - Gross margins decreased by 60 basis points to 37.5%, driven by lower volume, higher trade promotions, and inflation [23][36] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Global Pet Care reported a 7.1% decrease in net sales, with organic sales down 6.3%, primarily due to softness in the companion animal and aquatics categories [41][42] - Home and Garden net sales decreased by 5.2%, attributed to timing shifts and retailer inventory builds [47][50] - Home and Personal Care saw a 5.1% decrease in reported net sales, with organic net sales down 2.2% due to softness in North America [54][56] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Consumer sentiment in the U.S. weakened, impacting category growth, with consumers seeking value amid economic uncertainty [22][24] - EMEA organic sales for Global Pet Care grew mid-single digits, while North American sales declined low double digits [42][43] - Latin America experienced low double-digit growth in organic net sales, driven by distribution wins and new product launches [57] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on protecting its balance sheet and generating free cash flow, targeting approximately $160 million for the year [25][62] - Plans to transition sourcing out of China are underway, with expectations to have minimal exposure by the end of the fiscal year [12][71] - The company aims to leverage its strong balance sheet for potential acquisitions in the pet category, positioning itself as a consolidator in the market [28][67] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in navigating the current tariff environment and emphasized the importance of maintaining liquidity and a strong balance sheet [19][70] - The company anticipates that the challenges related to tariffs will be resolved in the coming quarters, particularly for the Global Pet Care and Home and Garden segments [70][72] - Management remains optimistic about future growth opportunities despite current economic volatility [74] Other Important Information - The company repurchased approximately 3.2 million shares year-to-date, returning over $1.28 billion to shareholders since the HHI transaction [32][33] - Adjusted diluted EPS decreased to $0.68, driven by lower adjusted EBITDA and operating income [37][60] Q&A Session Summary Question: Any areas where you see yourself competitively advantaged versus your peers given the new landscape? - Management indicated that while the playing field is level, the company's scale and strong brand presence provide a competitive advantage in securing supply outside of China [79][82] Question: How is the company positioned to handle the current tariff situation? - Management highlighted that the company is well-prepared to transition sourcing and expects to have minimal exposure to China in the near future, which is seen as a competitive advantage [79][80]

Construction Industry - In January-February, key indicators of the real estate market continued to decline year-on-year, with real estate development investment down by 9.8%, new construction area down by 29.6%, construction area down by 9.1%, sales area of commercial housing down by 5.1%, and completed housing area down by 15.6%, although the decline was narrower compared to the same period last year [2] - Infrastructure investment grew by 5.6% year-on-year, with water management investment up by 39.1%, air transport investment up by 13.4%, public facility management investment up by 2.6%, road transport investment down by 3.2%, and railway transport investment up by 0.2% [2] - National major power generation enterprises completed an investment of 75.3 billion yuan in power source projects, a year-on-year increase of 0.2%, while grid projects saw an investment of 43.6 billion yuan, up by 33.5% [2] Machinery Industry - In January-February, the machinery industry maintained growth, with most product outputs increasing year-on-year. The export value of electromechanical products totaled 2.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, accounting for 60.0% of total exports [3] Automotive Industry - In January-February, 4.553 million vehicles were produced, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%, with passenger car production at 3.936 million (up 17.2%) and commercial vehicle production at 617,000 (up 10.2%) [4] - New energy vehicle production continued to grow rapidly, increasing by 52.0%, with sales accounting for 40.3% of total vehicle sales. Vehicle exports reached 910,000, a year-on-year increase of 10.9%, although the growth rate slowed [4] - In February, vehicle production was 2.1 million, a year-on-year increase of 39.6%, but a month-on-month decrease of 14.1% [5] Home Appliance Industry - In January-February, the production of the three major white goods (washing machines, air conditioners, refrigerators) increased year-on-year, with washing machine production at 18.52 million units (up 12.7%), air conditioner production at 41.28 million units (up 9.0%), and refrigerator production at 15.12 million units (up 11.7%) [6] - Home appliance exports increased by 9.4% year-on-year, although the growth rate was narrower compared to the same period last year [6] Container Industry - In January-February, container production reached 3.519 million cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 51.3%, although the growth rate was significantly narrower compared to the same period last year, with export volume increasing by 21.2% [7]