Bank of America Securities: Slightly raises GEELY AUTO (00175) target price to HK$25, reiterates "buy" rating.

Bank of America Securities released a research report stating that GEELY AUTO (00175) reported a 27% year-on-year increase in third quarter revenue to 89.2 billion yuan, mainly driven by a 43% year-on-year increase in delivery volume and an increase in average selling price. Due to the enhancement of economies of scale, improvement in operating efficiency, and optimization of product portfolio, the gross profit margin increased by 1.2 percentage points year-on-year to 16.6%. The bank raised sales volume forecasts for 2025 to 2027 by 2%, 1%, and 2%, total revenue forecasts by 1%, 2%, and 2%, and earnings per share forecasts by 1%, 6%, and 5%. The target price was raised from 24 Hong Kong dollars to 25 Hong Kong dollars, with a reiterated "buy" rating. Net profit for the period increased by 59% year-on-year to 3.8 billion yuan, with accumulated net profit for the first three quarters reaching 13.1 billion yuan, accounting for 77% of the bank's full-year expectations. Taking into account foreign exchange losses and special items, the group's adjusted profit for the third quarter was 4 billion yuan, a 25% increase quarter-on-quarter; Estimated net profit per vehicle was 5,200 yuan, with year-on-year and quarterly increases of 27% and 17%, respectively.