HK Stock Market Move | YOURAN DAIRY (09858) up over 4% again, post-holiday animal husbandry may usher in a new round of clearing. The company's gross profit margin in the second half of the year will remain steady.

YOURAN DAIRY (09858) rose by over 4% again, with a three-day cumulative increase of nearly 20%. As of the time of publication, it rose by 4.55% to HK$1.84, with a turnover of HK$176.392 million. On the news front, Citic Securities previously released a research report stating that following YOURAN DAIRY's release of its interim results on August 26, 2024, it maintained a "buy" rating for YOURAN DAIRY with a target price of HK$2.1, a premium of 90%. The bank pointed out that YOURAN DAIRY's raw milk sales volume and gross profit margin in the first half of 2024 were better than expected. During the reporting period, YOURAN DAIRY's cost per kilogram of feed decreased by 12.9%, non-feed costs decreased by 2.9%, and overall costs decreased by 11%. This was due to the company's continuous optimization of cost structure, which successfully led to an overall decrease in unit costs. Management expects that with further decreases in feed prices and improvements in operational efficiency, the gross profit margin in the second half of the year will remain stable. CITIC SEC pointed out that the elimination and consolidation of the dairy industry continued to progress in 2024, with a 6.7% decrease in inventory in the main production areas in Q1-3, and a 2.8% year-on-year decrease in raw milk production for the whole year. Downstream dairy companies were relatively cautious in stocking up for the 2025 Spring Festival, and after a short-term surge in the price of bulk milk in December, dairy industry enterprises continued to face operational pressures. Following the Spring Festival and in the off-season, the industry may see a new round of accelerated consolidation, maintaining the judgment of a supply-demand turning point in the industry in 2025H2.