CICC: China Hongqiao (01378) Strong Buyback Enhances Shareholder Returns, Target Price Raised to 26.9 Hong Kong Dollars.

According to the Zhixin Financial APP, after China Hongqiao (01378) announced its interim performance and stock repurchase, Jefferies released a research report, reiterating its "buy" rating on China Hongqiao and raising its target price to 26.9 Hong Kong dollars. Jefferies stated that the net profit for the first half of 2025 is 12.4 billion yuan (a year-on-year increase of 35%), due to achieving vertical integration and relatively stable production costs. The unit gross profit of aluminum/alumina increased by 225/185 yuan/ton year-on-year, mainly thanks to the increase in average selling price (ASP). The highlight of this performance is that, in addition to the 2.6 billion Hong Kong dollars repurchased in the first half of 2025, they also plan to repurchase at least 3 billion Hong Kong dollars worth of shares, and the annual dividend payout ratio will exceed 60%, further demonstrating management's confidence in the company's performance.