Summary of Yihai International Conference Call Company Overview - **Company**: Yihai International - **Date**: September 12, 2025 Key Points Industry and Market Dynamics - **Butter Products**: Achieved approximately 20% growth due to low-priced product strategy and expansion into lower-tier markets [2][3] - **Instant Food Products**: High-priced products like small hot pots showed weak performance due to price sensitivity, while low-priced instant foods in the 7-8 RMB range, such as the "Home Cooking" series, gained popularity [2][3] - **Seasoning Market**: Characterized by regional flavor preferences, with few national bestsellers; the company adapts products to local tastes through small B-end partnerships [2][8] Growth Drivers - **Geographic Expansion**: Growth driven by expansion into new regions and customized collaborations with KA channels, leading to double-digit growth in products like fish seasoning and 24 dishes [3][4] - **Small B Customer Strategy**: Focus on direct engagement with small B customers to enhance growth potential, with a dedicated team to address regional taste variations [5][6] - **Product Development**: Sales-driven product development allows for timely market feedback, improving new product success rates [10] Financial Performance - **Revenue Contribution**: In the first half of 2025, revenue from food companies was 155 million RMB, primarily from large B customers, while small B customers contributed around 10 million RMB [5] - **Profit Margins**: Small B customers have higher profit margins (up to 30%) compared to large B customers, which could enhance overall profitability as the small B segment grows [5] Future Outlook - **Overseas Market Expansion**: The Thai factory is set to produce localized products, with a focus on enhancing brand recognition and product diversity in Southeast Asia [16][20] - **Cost Management**: Efforts to reform third-party C-end channels to improve profitability and reduce costs [4][19] - **Sales Strategy**: Direct sales to KA channels and reduced reliance on distributors to enhance margins and product alignment with market needs [14][12] Challenges and Considerations - **Price Stability**: Seasoning prices have remained stable, with a focus on maintaining high price segments while introducing low-priced products selectively [11] - **Market Acceptance**: Local acceptance of foreign brands in overseas markets remains a challenge, impacting production capacity utilization [17] - **Investment in Overseas Operations**: Higher costs associated with overseas operations due to staffing and regulatory requirements, with plans to increase marketing efforts as business scales [19] Performance Projections - **Second Half Expectations**: Anticipated double-digit growth in third-party business, with potential improvements in associated revenue due to lower base effects from the first half [21]

Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Outperform the Market" [6][4][17] Core Views - The company reported a total revenue of 2.927 billion CNY for the first half of 2025, a slight decrease of 0.25% year-on-year, while the net profit attributable to shareholders was 309 million CNY, reflecting a growth of 0.39% year-on-year [9][4] - The performance of third-party sales remained robust, with third-party revenue reaching 2.06 billion CNY, an increase of 6.5% year-on-year, while related party revenue decreased by 12.7% [2][11] - The company plans to continue its mid-term dividend policy, proposing a dividend of 0.3107 HKD per share, totaling 293 million CNY, which corresponds to a dividend payout ratio of 95% [15][3] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - In the first half of 2025, the company achieved a gross margin of 29.5%, down 0.5 percentage points year-on-year, primarily due to the decline in gross margin from related party operations [3][12] - The company’s net profit margin for the first half of 2025 was 10.6%, remaining stable year-on-year, supported by government subsidies and foreign exchange gains [3][12] Revenue Breakdown - For the first half of 2025, related party revenue was 860 million CNY, down 12.7% year-on-year, while third-party revenue was 2.06 billion CNY, up 6.5% year-on-year [2][11] - The third-party segment saw significant growth in specific product categories, with revenue from beef oil base, dipping sauce, and fish seasoning increasing by 20.5%, 12.6%, and 15.1% respectively [2][11] Future Outlook - The company has adjusted its revenue forecasts for 2025-2027, now expecting total revenues of 6.87 billion CNY, 7.41 billion CNY, and 7.89 billion CNY respectively, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 5.0%, 7.9%, and 6.5% [4][16] - The earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be 0.75 CNY, 0.83 CNY, and 0.90 CNY for 2025, 2026, and 2027 respectively [4][16]