HK Stock Market Move | WH Group (00288) drops more than 3%, Macquarie predicts that packaged meat will be the main drag on the company's first-quarter performance.

WH GROUP (00288) fell more than 3%, falling 3.44% to HKD 6.73 by the time of publication, with a turnover of HKD 1.05 billion. On the news front, Macquarie released a research report stating that due to strong rebound in the upstream business in the United States, WH GROUP's operating profit is expected to increase by 16% year-on-year. However, the bank lowered its profit forecast for the full year to reflect the impact of tariffs on US-China export business. The bank mentioned that due to business restructuring leading to inventory clearance and weak demand, packaged meat sales are expected to decline. Additionally, the company has increased the number of employees to improve channel service, but with decreasing sales leading to a weakening operating leverage, packaged meat is expected to be a major drag in the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. The bank lowered WH GROUP's profit forecast by 4.5% and reduced the target price by over 4% to HKD 7.3, giving it an "outperform" rating.