Kweichow MoutaiAlert:2Q17earnings in line;reiterating Buy

Net profit growth accelerate in 2Q17

    Kweichow Moutai reported 1H17 results with sales increased 33.1% toRMB24.19bn and net profit increased 27.8% yoy to RMB11.25bn, in line withour forecast at 11bn. Gross margin declined 2.3ppt to 89.6% in 1H17, mainlydue to faster sales growth form lower-end sub-brands. Management increasedmarketing efforts on lower end brands and its SG&A/sales ratio increased1.7ppt YoY to 14.1% in 1H17.

    In 2Q17, revenue/NPAT was up 33%/31% yoy, accelerated from +33%/+25%yoy in 1Q17. According to our channel check, Moutai's main products are stillshort of supply even in traditional slack season post Chinese New Yearholidays. We believe this is driven by industry demand recovery anddistributors' channel re-stockings with expectations of retail price hikes. As aresult, the advance from consumers is largely stable at Rmb17.8bn by end-2Q17, which is only 6% lower than 1Q17 even within a slack season.

    Maintaining Buy

    We reiterate Buy on Moutai due to its high earnings visibility backed byindustry demand recovery and channel restocking. Our TP at Rmb550 is basedon DCF approach (factoring in 9.5% WACC and a 2% terminal growth rate).

    Main downside risks: shorter-than-expected restocking cycle; governmentpolicy changes; food safety incidents.