[ET Net News Agency, 13 August 2019] HSBC Global Research lifted its target price for
Zhongsheng Group Holdings (00881) to HK$21 from HK$20 and maintained its "hold" rating.
The research house said Zhongsheng's results slightly beat HSBC estimates. The company
added net 25 new stores in 1H, of which eight stores are Mercedes Benz (MB) commercial
vehicle dealerships. Total capex for 1H was only RMB924m, which was a big drop from
RMB1,655m in 1H 2018.
HSBC believes this is mainly due to lower acquisition costs of MB commercial vehicles.
Free cash flow improved significantly driven by a lower inventory level and lower capex in
1H. However, the growth of aftersales and commission income slowed down.
HSBC raised its adjusted net profit estimates by 7%, 9% and 8% in 2019-21. (KL)