Core Viewpoint - 招银国际 has raised the net profit forecast for Xtep International (01368) for the fiscal year 2025 by 3%, while lowering the forecast for fiscal year 2027 by 3% to reflect better-than-expected interim earnings, lower-than-expected gross margins, and better-than-expected operating profit margins for Saucony [1] Group 1 - The company maintained a "Buy" rating for Xtep International, increasing the target price from HKD 7.2 to HKD 7.39 [1] - Xtep International's performance in the first half of the year exceeded expectations, and despite concerns about the macro environment, the company is expected to achieve its cautious full-year guidance, with overall sales growth and net profit growth of over 10% [1] - Saucony's sales are projected to increase by 30% to 40%, with the third quarter retail sales growth trend appearing favorable [1] Group 2 - Management indicated that the retail sales growth rate for both the core Xtep brand and the Saucony brand accelerated year-on-year in July [1]

Core Viewpoint - 招银国际 has raised the net profit forecast for Xtep International (01368) for the fiscal year 2025 by 3%, while lowering the forecast for fiscal year 2027 by 3% to reflect better-than-expected interim earnings, lower-than-expected gross margins, and better-than-expected operating profit margins for Saucony [1] Group 1 - The company maintained a "Buy" rating for Xtep International, increasing the target price from HKD 7.2 to HKD 7.39 [1] - Xtep International's performance in the first half of the year exceeded expectations, and despite concerns about the macro environment, the company is expected to achieve its cautious full-year guidance, with overall sales growth and net profit growth of over 10% [1] - Saucony's sales are projected to increase by 30% to 40%, with the third quarter retail sales growth trend appearing favorable [1] Group 2 - Management indicated that the retail sales growth rate for the core Xtep brand and Saucony brand accelerated year-on-year in July [1]

Core Viewpoint - The report from CMB International indicates that Xtep International's performance in the first half of the year exceeded expectations, with management confident in achieving its annual guidance [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - Xtep's core brand and Saucony brand retail sales growth accelerated year-on-year in July [1] - The company expects overall sales to show positive growth and net profit to increase by over 10% for the full year [1] - Saucony's sales are projected to rise by 30% to 40% [1] Group 2: Analyst Ratings - CMB International raised its net profit forecast for Xtep for the fiscal year 2025 by 3% [1] - The rating for Xtep is maintained at "Buy" [1] - The target price has been adjusted from HKD 7.20 to HKD 7.39 [1]

Group 1 - The core viewpoint of the report is that Daiwa has made slight adjustments to the earnings forecast for Xtep International (01368) for 2025, while lowering the 2026 earnings per share forecast by 2% due to potential slowdown in core brand revenue growth [1] - Daiwa maintains a "Buy" rating for the company, with a target price raised from HKD 6.6 to HKD 7, based on a consistent 12x price-to-earnings ratio applied to the average earnings per share for 2025 and 2026 [1] - Xtep International's net profit for the first half of this year increased by 6.4% year-on-year on a comparable basis, exceeding Daiwa's and market consensus expectations by 19% and 17% respectively, driven by strong operational cost control and improved operating profit margin in the professional sports segment [1] Group 2 - Despite the better-than-expected performance, Daiwa only made slight adjustments to the 2025 forecast, anticipating a decrease in operating profit margin in the second half of the year due to seasonal factors and increased marketing costs for Saucony [1] - The most notable aspect of Xtep International's performance is the resilience of operating profit margins in both the mass market and professional sports segments, despite a slowdown in revenue growth in the first half of 2025 [1] - The company is expected to face challenges in maintaining profit margins in the second half of 2025 due to product launches and store openings, including the release of Triumph 23 in July 2025 and lifestyle products in Q4 of this year [1] Group 3 - Daiwa believes that Xtep International's children's clothing business will provide further upside potential, with management expecting growth in this segment to outpace that of the adult market [2] - On a comparable basis, Daiwa forecasts the company's earnings growth to be approximately 5% in 2025 [2]