Envicool(002837) 高盛·2025-04-23 10:25Investment Rating - The report assigns a "Buy" rating for Envicool (002837.SZ) with a 12-month price target of RMB 50.6, indicating a potential upside of 63.2% from the current price of RMB 31.01 [10]. Core Insights - Envicool focuses on precision temperature control technology, which is increasingly adopted to enhance energy efficiency in data centers and energy storage systems, aligning with China's long-term goals of digital economy and carbon reduction [7]. - The company is experiencing strong demand from large-scale data centers and telecom operators, as well as from small and medium enterprises and edge computing projects [2]. - The growth in liquid cooling applications is expected to increase by the end of 2025 and into 2026, driven by domestic GPU manufacturers adopting this technology [2]. - The company aims for over 30% sales growth in 2025, although there are mixed signals regarding future growth drivers [2]. Data Center Cooling Business - Revenue recognition delays in data center projects impacted the overall performance in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, with significant year-on-year growth in inventory and contract liabilities [2]. - The backlog of orders reached a record high in Q1 2025, indicating strong future demand [2]. - The gross profit margin for the data center cooling business was 27% in 2024, a decrease of 2 percentage points year-on-year, primarily due to changes in product mix [2]. Energy Storage Cooling Business - Sales growth for energy storage cooling products was below expectations, with a year-on-year increase of 23% in 2024, primarily due to price declines [5]. - The gross profit margin for this segment was 31% in 2024, showing a slight improvement, attributed to sales and marketing, supply chain, and cost optimization efforts [5]. - Tariffs imposed by the U.S. are expected to negatively impact the energy storage cooling business in the short term, as U.S. customers have paused direct shipments [5]. Financial Performance - In Q4 2024, the company reported a revenue of RMB 1,717 million, an 18% year-on-year increase, but net profit fell by 25% to RMB 100 million [6]. - The operating expenses increased significantly, with a year-on-year growth of 28% in 2024, primarily due to workforce expansion [5]. - The company plans to maintain capital expenditures between RMB 200 million and RMB 400 million annually to support long-term growth [5].