HK Stock Market Move | JD HEALTH (06618) rose by more than 3% during trading hours, with third-quarter profits exceeding market expectations. Institutions predict that the pharmaceutical sector may still be the main category for growth.

JD HEALTH (06618) rose by more than 3% during trading hours, and as of the time of writing, it had risen by 2.51%, reaching 28.6 Hong Kong dollars with a trading volume of 549.47 million Hong Kong dollars. CICC released a research report stating that JD HEALTH's revenue for the third quarter of 2024 was 13.302 billion yuan, an increase of 14.8% year-on-year, with a net profit of 932 million yuan, an increase of 212% year-on-year. Adjusted net profit was 1.336 billion yuan, a 40.6% increase year-on-year. Revenue met market expectations, while profit exceeded market expectations, mainly due to the improvement in gross profit margin and continued optimization of expenses. The company's revenue performance is stable, and it is expected that the drug sector may still be the main category for growth, with growth potentially faster than the health care and medical equipment categories. On the other hand, considering that supply chain capabilities are a key advantage for the company, it is expected that self-operated businesses may perform slightly better than the pharmaceutical e-commerce platform business segment, driving overall revenue growth steadily. The report also pointed out that the company's profit growth is significant, mainly due to the improvement in gross profit margin driven by the launch of the drug first-sale business, and the continued high-speed growth driven by advertising business. However, considering that the fourth quarter has many large promotional activities such as shopping festivals, which are usually key quarters for expense investments by the company, CICC remains cautious about the profit in the fourth quarter.