Nomura: Maintains "Buy" rating on BYD Company (01211) and raises target price to 496 Hong Kong dollars.

Nomura released a research report, maintaining a "buy" rating on BYD COMPANY(01211) with a target price raised from 375 Hong Kong dollars to 496 Hong Kong dollars. The bank raised BYD Company Limited's electric vehicle shipment forecasts for the next two years by 9% and 13% to 5.5 million and 6.8 million units respectively, while also increasing revenue forecasts by 9% and 10%. The bank also raised the group's gross margin and operating profit margin for this year by 0.3 percentage points each, and expects the company's revenue and profit compound annual growth rates for the years 2023 to 2026 to be 23% and 28% respectively. Nomura stated that with BYD Company Limited equipping its vehicles with the Tianjin Eye intelligent driving system, they believe the leader in the Chinese electric vehicle market has entered the next stage of evolution in the automotive industry. Although this will further enhance BYD Company Limited's competitive advantage in market development pace, the bank believes that the group will reduce its aggressiveness in price competition this year, thereby reducing pressure on profit margins.