4Q24 margins lay foundation for FY25 earnings

比亚迪(002594)
    Maintain BUY.BYD’s strong4Q24earnings once again underscored theimportance of economies of scale.We expect BYD to prioritize sales volumeagain in FY25E,by leveraging new models,overseas expansion,batterytechnology upgrades and AD catch-up,which could lead to solid earnings inFY25E again.
    4Q24results beat with high quality earnings.BYD’s4Q24revenue beatour prior forecast by6%.In fact,BYD’s average selling price(ASP)excluding BYDE rose sequentially for two consecutive quarters,despitethe prolonged price war.The accounting standard change by moving after-sales provision from selling expenses to COGS lowered its4Q24GPM to17.0%.4Q24GPM by previous accounting standards would have been21.5%,0.9ppts higher than our forecast.Meanwhile,BYD’s4Q24R&Dexpenses were about16%higher than our estimates(BYD investedRMB54bn in R&D and expensed98%of it in FY24),leading to a beat of14%from our estimates at the net profit level.
    More comprehensive model portfolio,overseas expansion,batterytechnology upgrade and AD catch-up to fuel FY25sales growth.Weare of the view that BYD’s4Q24earnings once again underscored theimportance of economies of scale.We project BYD’s FY25sales volumeto rise23%YoY to5.25mn units,maintaining its current EV market sharein China.We expect its overseas sales volume to double YoY to0.8mnunits,following strong momentum in Jan-Feb2025.We expect a plethoraof new models,especially the Han L,Tang L and Denza N9,to lift its ASPand GPM.We project its premium brands(Denza,Fangchengbao andYangwang)to deliver0.37mn units in FY25E.We also expect moretechnological upgrades in FY25to strengthen its brand value.The recentlyshowcased1kW fast charging could also aid its energy storage batterysales.We are of the view that BYD could absorb its extra costs fromautonomous driving(AD)functions(which we estimate to be RMB3,000-4,000per vehicle),should it deliver our projected sales volume.
    Earnings/Valuation.We revise up our FY25E net profit by8%toRMB57.5bn,implying net profit of RMB10,900per vehicle(vs.RMB9,400in FY24).We maintain our BUY rating and raise target price to HK$470forH share and RMB440for A share,both of which are based on23x(prior20x)our FY25E EPS to reflect BYD’s leading position and recentlyimproving investor sentiment.Key risks to our rating and target priceinclude lower sales or margins than we expect,and a sector de-rating.