CITIC Securities: maintains "buy" rating on GEELY AUTO (00175), target price raised to HK$11.7.

DBS released a research report stating that it maintains a "buy" rating for GEELY AUTO (00175) because of strong delivery volume in the first half of this year and a robust vehicle pipeline. It has raised its profit forecast for the fiscal years 2024 and 2025 by 2% and 3% respectively, with a target price raised to 11.7 Hong Kong dollars. The company is also expected to raise its full-year delivery target to 2 million vehicles as market expectations increase, showing confidence in its overseas business by raising its sales target from 300,000 to 380,000 vehicles. The bank pointed out that the strong models under the Geely and Lynk & Co brands are crucial for increasing sales in the second half of this year and in 2025. It is expected that the gross profit margin will improve in the next few quarters and could reach 15.4% in the 2024 fiscal year. DBS predicts that Lynk & Co will achieve break-even in the second quarter of 2024 according to Hong Kong financial reporting standards and the newly launched Zeekr X should improve the company's sales outlook for the second half of the year.