Da Hua Ji Xian: maintaining a "hold" rating on SHK PPT (00016) is considered the best choice to capture opportunities in the Hong Kong property market.

Dahua Jixian released a research report, maintaining a "hold" rating for SHK PPT (00016) with a target price of 143.8 Hong Kong dollars, reaffirming New World as the best choice to capture opportunities in the Hong Kong property market. New World's underlying profit for the first half of the 2026 fiscal year increased by 16.7% year-on-year, equivalent to about 53% of the bank's annual forecast, mainly supported by strong growth in China property sales profits, and a decrease in total borrowing and financing costs driving the overall portfolio profit stability. The interim dividend increased by 3.2% year-on-year to 98 Hong Kong cents per share, exceeding market expectations. The group's Hong Kong property sales profit margin declined by 7 percentage points year-on-year to 8%, while the net debt ratio decreased by 4.4 and 3.2 percentage points respectively to 13.5%. The bank expects the Hong Kong property sales profit margin to recover from the second half of the 2026 fiscal year, with resilient performance and expansion plans for the Hong Kong and mainland investment property portfolios. Management also reiterated that they will maintain a dividend payout ratio between 40% to 50%. Considering the higher than expected profits from China property sales, the bank has raised New World's profit forecast for the 2026 fiscal year by 5%, while keeping the forecasts for the 2027 and 2028 fiscal years unchanged.