LB Group(002601) 光大证券·2025-04-28 09:14Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for Longbai Group (002601.SZ) with a current price of 16.42 CNY [1] Core Views - The company's performance in Q4 2024 was under pressure due to increased asset impairment and financial expenses, but profitability is expected to improve in Q1 2025 as prices recover [1][5][6] - Longbai Group is the largest titanium dioxide producer globally, with a complete industrial chain from mining to processing [7] - The report adjusts profit forecasts for 2025-2026 downwards due to the decline in titanium dioxide prices and increased financial costs, but maintains a positive outlook for 2027 [7] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - In 2024, Longbai Group achieved revenue of 27.51 billion CNY, a year-on-year increase of 2.80%, but net profit attributable to shareholders decreased by 32.79% to 2.17 billion CNY [4][5] - Q4 2024 saw a revenue of 6.65 billion CNY, a year-on-year increase of 2.20%, but a net loss of 395 million CNY, a significant decline compared to the previous year [4][5] - For Q1 2025, revenue was 7.06 billion CNY, a year-on-year decrease of 3.21%, but net profit recovered to 686 million CNY, indicating a positive trend [4][6] Market Dynamics - The titanium dioxide business generated revenue of 18.98 billion CNY in 2024, with a sales volume of 1.254 million tons, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 6.8% and 8.3% respectively [5] - The average selling price of titanium dioxide in Q4 2024 decreased by 4.7% quarter-on-quarter and 10.3% year-on-year, impacting the company's gross margin [5][6] Cost Structure and Profitability - The gross margin for the titanium dioxide business was 31.4% in 2024, an increase of 2.8 percentage points year-on-year, but the overall gross margin in Q4 2024 fell to 19.0% due to price declines [5][6] - Financial expenses surged by 195% year-on-year to 701 million CNY in 2024, with Q4 expenses reaching 399 million CNY [5][6] Future Outlook - The report forecasts net profits for 2025-2027 to be 2.96 billion CNY, 3.37 billion CNY, and 3.75 billion CNY respectively, reflecting a recovery as market conditions improve [7][9] - The company is actively enhancing its upstream raw material supply to support its production capabilities [7]