CITIC Steel(000708) 民生证券·2025-03-20 14:13Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Recommended" rating for the company [4][6]. Core Insights - In 2024, the company achieved revenue of 109.20 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.22% year-on-year, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 5.13 billion yuan, down 10.41% year-on-year [1]. - The company is focusing on structural adjustments in product varieties and increasing R&D investments, particularly in high-end products [3][4]. Summary by Sections Financial Performance - In Q4 2024, the company reported revenue of 25.70 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.9% and a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 3.02%. The net profit for Q4 was 1.29 billion yuan, down 4.26% year-on-year but up 16.09% quarter-on-quarter [1]. - The company's gross margin for 2024 was 12.85%, a decline of 0.29 percentage points year-on-year, while Q4 gross margin improved to 14.39%, an increase of 2.90 percentage points year-on-year [2]. Sales and Production - The company's steel sales remained stable at 18.89 million tons in 2024, with export sales decreasing by 7.5% to 2.20 million tons. The sales target for 2025 is set at 18.60 million tons, a decrease of 1.5% year-on-year, with export sales expected to increase by 20.3% to 2.65 million tons [2]. R&D and Product Development - The company increased its R&D expenses to 4.60 billion yuan in 2024, representing a 2.07% year-on-year growth, with an R&D expense ratio of 4.21%, up 0.31 percentage points [2]. - The company is focusing on high-end product development, particularly in sectors such as aerospace, robotics, and renewable energy, with significant growth in sales of bearing steel and energy-use steel [3]. Future Outlook - The company anticipates net profits of 5.22 billion yuan, 5.61 billion yuan, and 6.00 billion yuan for 2025, 2026, and 2027, respectively, with corresponding PE ratios of 12x, 11x, and 11x [4][5].