Guosen Securities issued a research report, indicating that Weigao Group (01066) achieved a revenue of 6.636 billion in the first half of the year (-3.8%), excluding a year-on-year decrease of 2.2% in epidemic-related products. A month-on-month increase of 4.8% in 23H2; net income attributable to the parent company was 1.108 billion (-7.5%), with a month-on-month growth of 37.7%. The sales volume of products in various business sectors generally increased, the market share of core products further improved, and brand influence continued to strengthen, but product prices are still in the process of transitioning between new and old policies, thus causing certain impact on performance. The board of directors recommends a mid-term dividend of approximately 0.42 billion, maintaining a dividend ratio of 40%.
The bank pointed out that the company achieved a revenue of approximately 3.189 billion yuan (-7.7%) in the medical device business in the first half of the year. Prices are still influenced by national and regional group purchases, but sales of main products maintained a steady growth rate of 5%-15%, while continuing to improve the product portfolio. The revenue of the pharmaceutical packaging business was approximately 1.168 billion yuan (+10.0%), with continued strong demand for pre-filled syringes and sales growth of more than 20%, further increasing its market share. In the field of automatic injection pens, the company has signed development agreements with dozens of pharmaceutical companies.
The bank also mentioned that national and regional group purchases have led to a decrease in the sales prices of some products. The company actively reduces production costs to partially offset the impact of price reductions on gross margin. In the first half of 2024, the company's gross margin was 50.9% (-0.5pp) year-on-year. The sales expense ratio was 19.1% (-0.1pp) , the administrative expense ratio was 8.1% (+0.3pp), the research and development expense ratio was 4.5% (+0.3pp), and the financial expense ratio was 1.9% (-0.1pp). Multiple factors led to a decrease in net margin to 17.4% (-0.6pp) year-on-year.
The bank stated that considering the impact of group purchases, it has lowered profit forecasts. It is expected that the income for 2024-2026 will be 13.66/14.46/15.43 billion (originally 14.36/15.68/17.11 billion), with a year-on-year growth rate of 3.2%/5.8%/6.7%; net income attributable to the parent company will be 2.19/2.35/2.54 billion (originally 2.26/2.57/2.89 billion), with a year-on-year growth rate of 9.2%/7.5%/8.0%. The current stock price corresponds to a PE ratio of 9/8/8x. Weigao has established multi-dimensional barriers in terms of brand image, quality control, economies of scale, and cost advantages. It is bullish on Weigao Group's sustained growth and leading position in the industry and maintains an "outperform the market" rating.