1H16 in line with preview
China Harmony Auto announced 1H16 results: revenue wasRmb4.93bn, down 1.6% YoY; net profit was Rmb306.1mn, up9.6% YoY, or Rmb0.19 per share, in line with our preview.
Trends to watch
Strong balance sheet with sufficient funds in hand. In1H16, Harmony's balance sheet structure has improved as thenet gearing and D/A ratio reduced 5ppt to 83%. The cash & cashequivalents were 3.2bn, maintained a high contribution to thecurrent assets. Besides, good inventory management andrebound sector demand helped turnover days down 6 days YoY.
Gross profit margin booming with higher proportion ofafter-sales services; employee stock incentive cost to liftadministrative expense. The GPM of Harmony was 12.4% in1H16, increasing 1.5ppt YoY and 2.2ppt HoH. After-salesservices' contribution to gross profit up 3.4ppt YoY to 70.1% in1H16, which further strengthens the GP structure. Administrativeexpense increased 52.1%YoY, as a result of paying Rmb11.1mnof employee stock incentive.
NEV projects to be conducted smoothly. Harmony's NEVprojects Aiche, FMC, and Alibaba Automobile have been operatedas per the schedule. Aiche is expected to launch new economicalelectric vehicle soon.
Earnings forecast
We maintain our earnings forecast for FY2016/2017.
Valuation and recommendation
The stock is trading at 8.8x 2016e PE. We maintain our BUYrating and HK$5.35 target price, implying 29.85% upside and11.5x 2016e P/E.
Risks
The profitability of newly opened stores lower than expected.