CITIC SEC and Cinda have successively released research reports: HUITONGDA NET (09878) receives an "Overweight" rating, with a target price of HK$15.

This week, CITIC SEC released a review of HUITONGDA NET's (09878) 2026 interim report, maintaining an "Overweight" rating with a target price of HK$15; in addition, Cinda also recently released a review of the company's interim results. Both research reports agree that Huitongda is proactively advancing its transformation and upgrading, and that the new strategy of "FMCG retail chain + AI technology" is gradually opening up incremental space. In the first half of 2026, Huitongda achieved revenue of RMB 23.58 billion and net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 153 million (up 10.5% year-on-year); gross profit was RMB 1.206 billion (up 6.8% year-on-year), with gross margin rising 0.5 percentage points year-on-year to 5.1%. All three core financial indicatorsgross margin, net margin, and net margin attributable to shareholdersreached record highs. Net cash generated from operating activities during the same period reached RMB 367 million, marking eight consecutive years of positive inflows. The judgments in the two research reports point to the same main threadCITIC SEC noted that the company is accelerating its transformation toward "FMCG retail chain + AI technology"; Cinda believes that through strategic positioning, the company has built a new industrial layout centered on "FMCG retail chain + AI technology," adding a new engine for future sustained growth. The FMCG retail chain is a new business format built "from zero to one" in this round of transformation. Building on its more than 250,000 member retail stores, Huitongda has accumulated supply chain, digitalization, and channel operation capabilities. In the first half of the year, with "AI scenario-based applications + smart supply chain" as its core empowerment system, it initially formed an FMCG retail chain network covering multiple formats such as bulk snack stores, hard discount supermarkets, and convenience stores. It successively reached strategic cooperation with "Lingshi Youxuan," "Juzi Huakai," and "Kehao Bianli," and newly developed nearly 5,000 stores. Cinda believes that as the store network expands and supply chain penetration deepens, this business is expected to become a new growth driver for the company in the future. On the AI front, the company positioned 2026 as a "key year for value release" in its AI strategy. Its self-developed "Qiancheng Cloud AI Intelligent Large Model" has passed filing with the Cyberspace Administration of China and completed a comprehensive AI upgrade of its store management system and APP; on the enterprise side, it launched a one-stop AI management platform "LeapoAI," integrating more than 100 out-of-the-box skills and entering commercial promotion. At the same time, through the acquisition of "Renzhi Bianjie" (Dabi AI), Huitongda formed a Wuxi Online Offline Communication Information Technology Co., Ltd. synergy with its self-developed Qiancheng Cloud AI. At the commercialization level, revenue from AI products and services in the first half of the year was RMB 79 million, up 32.3% year-on-year, while the number of paying users increased 15.5% year-on-year to 40,700. The payment model was upgraded from a traditional subscription to a comprehensive "subscription + usage-based" payment model. CITIC SEC stated that Huitongda's coverage of a large number of lower-tier retail stores, customers, and application scenarios provides a solid commercialization foundation for AI product implementation. AI is expected not only to enhance the monetization capability of its service business, but also to further empower supply chain and store operating efficiency, becoming an important DRIVE for the company's medium- to long-term business structure upgrade.