Citibank: TRIP.COM-S (09961) reports healthy fourth quarter performance. Revenue beats expectations but operating profit margin slightly underperforms.

Citi Research report states that the fourth quarter revenue of TRIP.COM-S (09961) increased by 21% year-on-year to 15.4 billion yuan (same below), exceeding the bank's and market expectations by 3%. The gross profit margin was 79%, compared to 81.7% in the third quarter of last year, while the bank's expectation was 78.5%. Non-GAAP operating profit margin was 20.7%, with non-GAAP profit of 3.48 billion yuan, beating the market's expectation of 3.2 billion yuan. The bank currently gives Trip.com Group Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TCOM.US) a target price of $82 and a "buy" rating. The bank believes that the group's fourth quarter performance is healthy, with revenue significantly exceeding expectations, as Trip.com Group Ltd. Sponsored ADR's international platform showed strong performance during peak season, and other income mainly composed of advertising and credit solutions exceeded expectations.