UOB Kay Hian Private Limited

Date of Report: Tuesday, 29 April 2025

Market Monitor April 2025: Comprehensive Financial Review and Sector Outlook for Singapore and Hong Kong

US Market Overview

US stocks showed mixed performance with gains led by utilities, real estate, and energy sectors, while information technology, consumer staples, and discretionary sectors weighed down indexes. The Dow Jones rose 0.28%, the S&P 500 edged up 0.06%, and NASDAQ slipped 0.10%. The NYSE saw more advancing stocks than decliners. Trading volumes and market indices across Asia also reflected varying momentum.

iFAST Corporation: Solid Growth Amidst Resource Ramp-Up; Upgrade to BUY

Stock Ticker: IFAST SP | Last Price: S\$6.35 | Target Price: S\$7.28

• Q1 2025 Highlights: Earnings increased 31% year-on-year to S\$19 million, slightly below expectations at 19% of full-year forecast. Revenue grew 24% YoY driven by core wealth management platform and UK-based iFAST Global Bank (iGB) which posted consecutive profitable quarters.
• Assets Under Administration (AUA): Reached a record S\$25.7 billion (+22% YoY, +3% QoQ), with Singapore contributing 70% of total AUA, growing 19% YoY.
• iGB Turnaround: Net profit reached S\$1 million versus a loss of S\$2.3 million in Q1 2024, supported by a 105% YoY revenue increase and 124% YoY growth in customer deposits.
• Dividend Increase: Interim dividend per share raised by 23% to 1.6 Singapore cents.
• Hong Kong Operations: PBT guidance reduced by 24% YoY due to higher operating expenses in the ePension division amid resource ramp-up. Revenue guidance remains unchanged at over HK\$1.2 billion.
• Geographical Expansion: Partnership established with TSFC Securities in Thailand to co-develop a fintech platform for offshore bond trading, aligning with plans to scale AUA to S\$100 billion by 2028-2030.
• Financial Summary:
  

  Year	Net Turnover (S\$m)	EBITDA (S\$m)	Operating Profit (S\$m)	Net Profit (S\$m)	EPS (S cents)	PE (x)	P/B (x)	Dividend Yield (%)
  2023	257	66	42	28	9.3	68.1	7.5	0.8
  2024	383	141	114	67	21.9	29.0	5.9	0.9
  2025F	524	129	92	85	32.2	19.7	4.9	1.6
  2026F	610	152	106	99	37.4	17.0	4.0	1.8
  2027F	698	180	125	117	44.3	14.3	3.3	2.2

CapitaLand Ascott Trust: Navigating Macro Headwinds with Strategic Portfolio Repositioning

Stock Ticker: CLAS SP | Last Price: S\$0.85 | Target Price: S\$1.38

• Q1 2025 Business Update: RevPAU increased 4% YoY to S\$141, driven by strong performance in Australia (+13%), Japan (+17%), UK (+12%), and US (+11%). Average occupancy rose 4 percentage points YoY to 77%.
• Portfolio Strategy: Focused shift towards longer-stay properties accounting for 17% of portfolio value and 19% of gross profit, offering defensive qualities with lean cost structures and average stay length of two months.
• Geographical Highlights:
  • Australia: Benefited from leisure demand and group bookings around the Australian Open. Revenue from master leases remained stable.
  • Japan: Strong international leisure bookings, especially from Asian countries; positive outlook for Q2 due to cherry blossom season and long weekends.
  • UK: RevPAU up 12% YoY to £183, boosted by refurbished Citadines Holborn-Covent Garden and increased corporate travel.
  • US: Student accommodation and leisure demand strong; leased occupancy at 90% with rent growth of 4.5%.
• Balance Sheet and Financing: Aggregate leverage rose to 39.9% due to acquisitions; interest coverage healthy at 3.2x; 76% of debt fixed rate; average cost of debt stable at 2.9%.
• Acquisitions: Two freehold limited-service hotels in Japan acquired at an 8.3% discount, expected to be accretive to DPS by 1.6%. Post-acquisition, Japan accounts for 18% of total assets.
• Financial Summary:
  

  Year	Net Turnover (S\$m)	EBITDA (S\$m)	Operating Profit (S\$m)	Net Profit (S\$m)	EPU (S cents)	DPU (S cents)	PE (x)	P/B (x)	DPU Yield (%)
  2023	745	302	263	218	2.8	6.6	30.6	0.7	7.7
  2024	810	331	293	227	3.7	6.1	23.0	0.7	7.2
  2025F	743	347	307	159	4.2	6.1	20.5	0.8	7.1
  2026F	768	359	318	168	4.4	6.4	19.5	0.8	7.5
  2027F	784	367	327	172	4.4	6.5	19.2	0.8	7.6

BYD Electronic (BYDE): Margins Pressure Amid Product Mix Shift, Automotive Segment Leads Growth

Stock Ticker: 285 HK | Last Price: HK\$31.80 | Target Price: HK\$41.20

• Q1 2025 Performance Highlights: Revenue flat YoY at Rmb36.9 billion (+1.1%), but declined 33.2% QoQ, driven by strong automotive business growth offsetting weaker consumer electronics components.
• Gross Margin Pressure: Gross margin declined to 6.3% (-0.6ppt YoY), impacted by slowing demand for metal cases in high-end smartphones.
• Net Profit: Increased 1.9% YoY to Rmb622 million despite a significant 48.3% QoQ drop, supported by improved cost controls.
• Automotive Segment: Automotive electronics revenue nearly doubled YoY, outpacing BYD’s volume growth, driven by increased dollar content for ADAS and suspension products.
• Consumer Electronics: Assembly business flat YoY; components business slowed due to soft high-end smartphone demand, with minimal exposure in mid-to-low-end market.
• AI Server Business: Revenue guidance maintained at Rmb3-5 billion despite export restrictions; domestic GPUs enable resilience.
• US Tariff Impact: Approximately 30% of Apple assembly business exposed indirectly to US tariffs; broader industry-wide effects expected but yet to fully materialize.
• Industrial AI Robotics: Targeting deployment of robotic arms in assembly lines in 2025 following in-house component development.
• Financial Overview:
  

  Year	Net Turnover (Rmbm)	EBITDA (Rmbm)	Operating Profit (Rmbm)	Net Profit (Rmbm)	EPS (Cents)	P/E (x)	P/BV (x)	Dividend Yield (%)
  2023	129,957	6,496	3,705	4,041	179.4	16.1	2.7	1.7
  2024	177,306	11,578	3,927	4,266	189.3	15.3	2.4	1.8
  2025F	191,570	9,812	5,115	4,706	208.9	13.8	2.2	2.0
  2026F	210,263	11,972	7,091	6,569	291.5	9.9	1.9	2.8
  2027F	223,713	13,434	8,356	7,857	348.7	8.3	1.7	3.3

China Resources Building Materials Technology: Strong Earnings Recovery Amid Drought-Induced Supply Constraints

Stock Ticker: 1313 HK | Last Price: HK\$1.69 | Target Price: HK\$2.30

• Q1 2025 Results: Net profit surged 470% YoY to Rmb107 million, driven by higher ASPs for cement products and expanded revenue contributions from concrete and aggregates.
• Cement Sales Volume: Fell 13.1% YoY to 11.32 million tonnes due to strategic focus on profit margins over volume.
• ASP and Margins: Cement ASP rose 3.3% YoY to Rmb252/tonne; gross margin for cement products expanded by 2.5ppt to 16.3%, supported by severe drought in Guangxi restricting supply outflow and stabilizing regional prices.
• Production Controls: Strict enforcement of production caps (110% of approved capacity) expected to curb overproduction and support price stability.
• Financial Summary:
  

  Year	Net Turnover (Rmbm)	EBITDA (Rmbm)	Operating Profit (Rmbm)	Net Profit (Rmbm)	EPS (Fen)	PE (x)	P/B (x)	Dividend Yield (%)
  2023	25,550	4,004	1,427	644	9.2	17.2	0.3	3.0
  2024	23,038	3,542	1,019	211	3.0	52.7	0.3	1.9
  2025F	22,547	3,639	1,972	1,090	15.6	10.2	0.2	4.6
  2026F	23,802	3,973	2,260	1,291	18.5	8.6	0.2	5.6
  2027F	24,627	4,320	2,586	1,532	21.9	7.2	0.2	6.7

China State Construction Engineering Corporation: Resilient Profit Growth and Focus on High-Quality Development

Stock Ticker: 601668 CH | Last Price: Rmb5.49 | Target Price: Rmb6.56

• Q1 2025 Results: Core net profit up 0.8% YoY to Rmb14.85 billion, supported by revenue growth (+1.1%), lower net finance and R&D costs, and a 24.7% increase in investment income.
• Gross Margins: Slight decline of 0.2ppt YoY to 7.8%, weighed down by the property development segment.
• Operating Cash Flow: Negative Rmb95.9 billion but marginally improved from previous year.
• Debt to Asset Ratio: Increased 0.9ppt YoY to 75.5%, with a slight quarterly decrease.
• Management Outlook: Targets new orders growth above 2.2% and revenue growth exceeding 4.3% in 2025, emphasizing high-quality developments and improved cash collection.
• Financial Summary:
  

  Year	Net Turnover (Rmbm)	EBITDA (Rmbm)	Operating Profit (Rmbm)	Net Profit (Rmbm)	EPS (Fen)	PE (x)	P/B (x)	Dividend Yield (%)
  2023	2,265,529	122,301	107,856	54,264	133.6	4.1	0.5	4.9
  2024	2,187,148	111,671	96,371	46,187	113.7	4.8	0.5	4.9
  2025F	2,245,610	113,497	98,197	49,924	122.9	4.5	0.5	4.8
  2026F	2,316,817	116,681	100,881	51,745	127.4	4.3	0.4	5.1
  2027F	2,377,994	120,141	104,341	52,510	129.3	4.2	0.4	5.2

Goldwind Science & Technology: Robust Earnings Growth Driven by Wind Turbine Shipments

Stock Ticker: 2208 HK | Last Price: HK\$5.42 | Target Price: HK\$7.50

• Q1 2025 Earnings: Net profit soared 70.8% YoY to Rmb568.2 million, largely due to an 80.2% YoY surge in wind turbine generator (WTG) shipments to 2,588 MW.
• WTG Segment: Shipments of WTGs over 6MW grew 168%, constituting 70.5% of total shipments, reflecting industry trends toward larger turbines.
• Gross Margin: Consolidated gross margin narrowed 3.1ppt YoY to 21.8%, attributed to lower margins in the WTG segment relative to others.
• Order Backlog: Expanded 7.8% to 51.1 GW, supported by domestic open tenders; overseas backlog slightly decreased 1.7% QoQ but remains substantial at 6.9 GW.
• 2025 Guidance: Maintained WTG shipment target of 30 GW with gross margin expected to improve to around 7% from 5.1% in 2024.
• Financial Overview:
  

  Year	Net Turnover (Rmbm)	EBITDA (Rmbm)	Operating Profit (Rmbm)	Net Profit (Rmbm)	EPS (Sen)	PE (x)	P/B (x)	Dividend Yield (%)
  2023	50,244	3,400	1,050	1,331	31.5	16.2	0.6	2.0
  2024	56,516	4,054	1,106	1,860	44.1	11.6	0.6	2.7
  2025F	59,574	5,441	2,632	3,391	80.4	6.3	0.5	4.7
  2026F	63,435	6,362	3,326	3,948	93.6	5.4	0.5	5.5
  2027F	67,068	6,984	3,890	4,404	104.4	4.9	0.5	6.1

Sinopharm Group: In-Line Results Amid Policy Uncertainties Clouding Growth Outlook

Stock Ticker: 1099 HK | Last Price: HK\$18.28 | Target Price: HK\$16.50

• Q1 2025 Performance: Revenue declined 3.8% YoY to Rmb141.7 billion; net profit attributable to shareholders increased 2.6% YoY to Rmb1.46 billion, in line with internal estimates but below consensus forecasts.
• Segment Revenue: Pharmaceutical distribution and medical devices fell approximately 3% YoY; retail pharmacy segment grew 2% YoY despite closure of 300 loss-making stores in Q1 2025, totaling 1,500 stores closed since 2024.
• Margin Pressure: Gross profit margin decreased 0.21ppt YoY to 6.98%; however, selling and administrative expense ratios improved through cost control.
• Policy Risks: Ongoing volume-based procurement expansions and reforms continue to pressure revenue growth and profitability; visibility remains limited for 2025 growth.
• Financial Summary:
  

  Year	Net Turnover (Rmbm)	EBITDA (Rmbm)	Operating Profit (Rmbm)	Net Profit (Rmbm)	EPS (Fen)	PE (x)	P/B (x)	Dividend Yield (%)
  2023	596,570	27,374	22,944	9,054	290	5.9	0.7	5.1
  2024	584,508	23,886	19,152	7,047	226	7.6	0.7	4.0
  2025F	577,417	22,746	18,917	6,951	223	7.7	0.6	3.9
  2026F	592,028	22,972	19,502	7,201	231	7.4	0.6	4.0
  2027F	621,919	23,800	20,588	7,644	245	7.0	0.6	4.3

Tsingtao Brewery: Product Mix Optimization and Digital Expansion Fuel Revenue Growth

Stock Ticker: 168 HK | Last Price: HK\$56.55 | Target Price: HK\$66.70

• Q1 2025 Results: Revenue grew 3% YoY to Rmb10.45 billion; net profit increased 7% YoY to Rmb1.71 billion.
• Profitability Gains: Gross margin improved by 1.2ppt to 41.6% due to easing raw material costs; EBIT margin up 1.7ppt to 19.7%.
• Sales Volume: Total beer sales volume rose 3.5% YoY to 22.61 million hectoliters; mid- to high-end beer volume increased by 5.3% YoY, representing 45% of total sales.
• Channel Expansion: Accelerated new commerce and new retail strategies, with online sales reaching record highs and significant growth in online-to-offline retail.
• Financial Summary:
  

  Year	Net Turnover (Rmbm)	EBITDA (Rmbm)	Operating Profit (Rmbm)	Net Profit (Rmbm)	EPS (Fen)	PE (x)	P/B (x)	Dividend Yield (%)
  2023	33,937	5,587	4,405	4,268	313.9	16.9	2.6	3.8
  2024	32,138	5,729	4,488	4,345	319.1	16.7	2.5	4.1
  2025F	32,981	6,114	4,838	4,619	339.2	15.7	2.4	4.6
  2026F	33,931	6,602	5,274	4,974	365.3	14.6	2.2	4.9
  2027F	34,948	7,083	5,701	5,326	391.2	13.6	2.1	5.2

Li Ning: Solid Q1 Sell-Through Despite Emerging Discount Pressures

Stock Ticker: 2331 HK | Last Price: HK\$15.00 | Target Price: HK\$19.00

• Q1 2025 Retail Performance: Retail sell-through grew by a low single digit YoY, driven by low single-digit volume growth and improved ASP.
• Channel Dynamics: Offline retail and wholesale channels showed mixed growth; e-commerce performed well with low-teen growth.
• Momentum Weakening: Sell-through began weakening in March 2025 with a YoY decline in the offline channel; discount pressure intensified across channels, expected to increase further in Q2 2025.
• Inventory and Expenses: Channel inventory turnover steady at 5 months; A&P and R&D ratios expected to rise slightly in 2025 due to marketing and product investments.
• Financial Summary:
  

  Year	Net Turnover (Rmbm)	EBITDA (Rmbm)	Operating Profit (Rmbm)	Net Profit (Rmbm)	EPS (Fen)	PE (x)	P/B (x)	Dividend Yield (%)
  2023	27,598	6,157	3,559	3,187	122.7	11.5	1.5	3.9
  2024	28,676	6,379	3,678	3,013	116.5	12.1	1.4	4.1
  2025F	28,688	5,956	3,522	2,871	111.0	12.7	1.3	4.0
  2026F	29,608	6,469	3,898	3,167	122.5	11.5	1.2	4.3
  2027F	30,560	6,665	3,994	3,262	126.2	11.2	1.2	4.5

Online Travel Agencies in China: Anticipating a Vibrant 2025 Labour Day Travel Season

• Sector Outlook: Strong cultural and tourism consumption based on Q1 2025 data and Labour Day projections, with expected 15% YoY increase in domestic trips to 350 million and stable passenger flows.
• Travel Trends: Long-haul travel is set to boom with up to 11-day holidays boosting demand; over 80% of accommodation bookings are cross-city stays with 20% staying two nights or more.
• Inbound Tourism: Inbound hotel bookings forecasted to surge 173% YoY, hotel search interest up 200% YoY, supported by policy measures like instant tax refunds for outbound shopping and social media popularity.
• County-Level Travel: Rapid growth with 1,229 counties covered in hotel bookings; high-end hotel bookings up over 30% YoY.
• OTA Company Highlights:
  • Trip.com (TCOM): Targets mid-to-high teens revenue growth in 2025, driven by domestic and outbound travel, with EBIT margin expected to improve to 31%.
  • Tongcheng Travel (TT): Targets international travel to contribute 10% of revenue by 2025; recently acquired Wanda Hotel Management to enhance high-end hotel segment competitiveness.
• Market Risks: Potential price wars and softer travel spending power could impact growth.
• Valuations: Trip.com trades at 16.3x 2025 PE; Tongcheng Travel at 14.4x 2025 PE with PEG of 1x against 18% EPS CAGR.

Technical Insights: Singapore Market Trading Recommendations

• Top Glove Corporation: Trading BUY recommended with entry price range S\$0.260-0.265, target price S\$0.340, and stop-loss at S\$0.245. Technical signals include price stability above 20-day moving average and rising RSI.
• Riverstone Holdings: Trading BUY with entry range S\$0.895-0.900, target price S\$0.995, and stop-loss at S\$0.870. Indicators suggest possible bottom formation and positive momentum.

Singapore Market Recap: April 28, 2025

• Straits Times Index (STI) closed down 11.98 points to 3,811.80.
• Top active stocks included DBS (-0.1%), Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (+2.3%), Singapore Telecommunications (+0.8%), OCBC Bank (-0.4%), and Rex International (-0.8%).
• Market breadth showed 243 gainers versus 220 losers; total trading value stood at S\$1.12 billion.
• Top gainers: Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (+4.7%), Golden Agri-Resources (+4.2%), Top Glove Corp (+3.8%).
• Top losers: iFAST Corp (-11.7%), ESR-REIT (-4.8%), Shangri-La Asia (-2.7%).

Hong Kong Market Recap: April 28, 2025

• Top trading turnover stocks included Tracker Fund of Hong Kong (-0.8%) and China Construction Bank (-0.8%).
• Top gainers featured Xiaomi Corp (+6.5%), China Coal Energy (+4.9%), and Yankuang Energy (+4.2%).
• Top losers included BYD Electronic (-8.5%), China Vanke (-4.4%), and Techtronic Industries (-3.1%).

Summary

The current market landscape in Singapore and Hong Kong reflects a complex interplay of growth opportunities and sector-specific challenges. Key companies across sectors—from technology and finance to construction, energy, and consumer goods—have reported mixed results with notable highlights in automotive electronics, hospitality, and tourism. Policy environments, macroeconomic headwinds, and evolving consumer behaviors continue to shape outlooks, while strategic acquisitions and operational excellence underpin many firms’ prospects. Investors are advised to consider sector catalysts and risks, particularly in travel, healthcare, and manufacturing industries, while leveraging technical insights for trading opportunities.