Citigroup has issued a research report assigning Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China Limited (ICBC) a price target of HK$7.95 and a "Buy" rating. The report anticipates that ICBC will receive an injection of approximately 100 billion yuan from Huijin, which is expected to dilute earnings per share by about 3% to 4%, a lower dilution compared to Agricultural Bank of China. Even after accounting for this potential dilution, ICBC's H-share current price corresponds to a projected 2026 price-to-book ratio of 0.52 times and a projected 2026 dividend yield of 5.2%, indicating that the valuation remains attractive. For the full year, the company's net profit increased by 0.7% year-over-year to 3.686 trillion yuan, while pre-provision profit grew by 1.9% to 5.545 trillion yuan, slightly below the bank's expectations. In the fourth quarter, pre-provision profit rose by 3% year-over-year, benefiting from an improved cost-to-income ratio. However, fourth-quarter net profit growth slowed to 1.9% from 3.3% in the third quarter, primarily due to increased credit costs, which were partially offset by a lower tax rate.
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